Article published Nov 21, 2006 Spencer steals win for Cavemen Mishawaka's Kyle Heatherly shoots over Remigijus Untulis of Culver Military. Tribune Photo/SANTIAGO FLORES MATT KOPSEA Tribune Staff Writer MISHAWAKA -- With Mat Spencer on the floor, the Mishawaka High boys basketball team was in good hands Monday night. Spencer's steal in the closing seconds of overtime helped Mishawaka preserve its 72-70 come-from-behind victory over visiting Culver Military Academy in the season opener at The Cave. Trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half (25-11), the Cavemen (1-0) roared back to tie the game at 59 and force overtime. After hitting two free throws to give Mishawaka a 70-67 lead with 6.4 seconds left in the extra session, 6-foot-1 senior Spencer intercepted an inbound pass right by the CMA (0-1) bench and quickly dished it off to Kyle Heatherly, who was fouled. Heatherly's two free throws were the difference as CMA's Jake Kohr's nailed down a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Cortez Lee of Mishawaka tries to get around Culver Military's Jake Kohr. Tribune Photo/SANTIAGO FLORES "Even when things weren't going so well, our kids did a nice job of staying with it tonight," said Mishawaka coach Robb Berger. "We tried some different looks defensively in the half court and were able to come up with some turnovers. "When it came to crunch time, we did a nice job of attacking the basket and getting to the free-throw line," Berger added. "Mat came up with some big plays for us, but he wasn't the only one who stepped up for us." While Spencer netted 11 of his 17 points in the second and third quarters, Heatherly saved his best for the end by tallying 13 of his 17 in the final stanza and in overtime. The Eagles led by 10 after three quarters, but seven turnovers down the stretch were costly. "If we do a better job of taking care of the basketball in the fourth quarter, we wouldn't be feeling so bad right now," said Culver Military coach Tommy Mascari. "You've got to give Mishawaka credit because they made the necessary adjustments and we didn't."Before fouling out, Giedrius Lopeta netted 24 points and fellow Lithuanian Remigijus Untulis added 19 for CMA. MISHAWAKA 72, CMA 70 (OT) At Mishawaka CULVER MILITARY (70): Jake Kohr 2 0-0 5, Adam Pickrell 2 0-1 4, Patrick Graff 4 6-7 16, Giedrius Lopeta 7 7-11 24, Remigijus Untulis 8 3-7 19, David McIntyre 0 0-0 0, Sam Hopkins 0 2-2 2, Matt Dinwiddie 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23 18-28 70.MISHAWAKA (72): Steve Heatherly 1 2-2 5, Cortez Lee 2 3-4 7, Kyle Heatherly 6 4-8 17, Ryan Lewis 5 2-3 12, Joe Calderone 3 2-4 8, Mat Spencer 4 7-9 17, Matt Layman 3 0-0 6, Jim Ross 0 0-2 0. TOTALS: 24 20-32 72. CMA 23 34 51 59 70 Mishawaka 11 27 41 59 72 3-point goals: CMA 6 (Lopeta 3, Graff 2, Kohr), Mishawaka 4 (Spencer, S. Heatherly, K. Heatherly). Total fouls (fouled out): CMA 26 (Graff, Lopeta), Mishawaka 23 (S. Heatherly). Shooting: CMA 23-of-51 (45 percent), Mishawaka 24-of-50 (48 percent). Rebounds: CMA 35 (Untulis 7), Mishawaka 32 (Lewis 7). Turnovers: CMA 14, Mishawaka 10. J.V. score: CMA 42 (Matt Marrs 23), Mishawaka 29 (Preston Tracy 11). Varsity records: CMA 0-1, Mishawaka 1-0. Officials: Todd Block, John Coppens, John Walczewski.