It was another close finish and another heartbreaking result for the Riverland men’s basketball team in a 71-69 loss to Anoka-Ramsey in Riverland gym Wednesday.

The Blue Devils (5-13 overall, 0-4 MCAC) had a chance to tie the game with 18 seconds left after A-R’s Mike Kizzee made one of two free throws to make it 69-67.

But after pulling down a rebound, RCC tried to get the ball to Chris Moragne on a breakaway. The ball sailed over Moragne’s head for a turnover and A-R’s Kyle Matuska hit two free throws to ice the game with 9.4 seconds left.

“That was a costly turnover at the end of the game,” RCC head coach Dan Swift said. “We get a wide open look and a decent pass, but it ends up out of bounds.”

RCC trailed 64-57 with 1:01 left in the game, but A.J. Kortz scored five straight points, to make it a 64-62 game with 44 seconds left.

Momentum turned against RCC on the following posession when A-R (6-12 overall, 2-2 MCAC) avoided a 10-second back-court violation when a foul was called on RCC after 11 seconds had ticked off the game clock.

Kizzee hit both free throws to make it a 66-62 game and after both teams exchanged scores, it was 68-64 when Derek Hahn drilled a deep trey from the wing to make it 68-67 with 18.7 seconds left in the game.

RCC had led 34-30 at the break, but A/R scored the first 10 points in the second half and went on to lead by as many as 14 before the Blue Devils recovered.

“The second half start kills us on a game by game basis,” Swift said. “It comes down to our guys wanting it. Our guys just don’t have that killer instinct. They have the AAU instinct where if you win that’s OK, but if you lose, you play again tomorrow. That has to change.”

The Blue Devils shot just 10 free throws on the night, while A-R attempted 29.

“All in all, the game was lost at the free throw line,” Swift said. “We get stagnant with our offense and we stand and watch instead of attacking and getting to the line. We always get good looks from 15 to 20 feet, but those shots aren’t gonna fall every time.”

RCC led 10-2 to open the game.

Anoka-Ramsey 30 41 — 71

Riverland 34 35 — 69

Riverland scoring: AJ Kortz, 20; Jason Simmons, 16; Derek Hahn, 15; Brian Voigt, 8; Chris Moragne, 6; Danny DeWitz, 4; field goals: 39 percent (26-for-66); three-pointers: 40 percent (11-for-27); free throws: 60 percent (6-for-10); rebounds: 31 (Simmons, 10); turnovers: 14

Anoka-Ramsey scoring: Kyle Matuska, 23; Cole Alexander, 13; Antonio Tate, 12; Mohamed Camara, 8; Erik Vinh, 8; Mike Kizzee, 3; Julian Harris, 2; Brian Smith, 2; field goals: 43 percent (24-for-56); three-pointers: 13 percent (2-for-15); free throws: 72 percent (21-for-29); rebounds: 41 (Kizzee, 13); turnovers: 18