By Sean Pitman, Sports Editor

BISMARCK - When are free throws not free? How about when they cost you a spot in the semifinals of the West Region Boys Basketball Tournament.

Williston, the No. 4 seed, couldn t take care of business at the line and it proved to be the difference in an 80-78 loss in overtime to No. 5 Mandan at the Bismarck Civic Center Thursday.

 Pretty simply they made their free throws and we didn t, said Williston coach Mark Slotsve.

The Coyotes managed just 13-of-25 from the line and were just 8-of-18 in the second half. Mandan went 20-of-27 from the line and three of those misses came in the last 20 seconds of overtime.

Now the Coyotes will have to get to state the hard way, through the consolation bracket. Williston faces Bismarck St. Mary s at 1 p.m. today in a loser-out game.

A 6-0 run with a Cameron Hughes tip-in and back-to-back buckets by Brent Qvale put Williston on top 57-47 midway through the second half.

Bryan Kielpinski scored for Mandan to get the lead under 10, and then the Coyote struggles at the free throw line ensued.

After Williston missed five straight, the Braves began to whittle away at the lead behind the play of Andy Hoff.

Williston had overcome a seven-point deficit in the first half and a two-point hole at the break, but now it was Mandan s turn.

 We came out with aggressive play to build the lead, but when we got it, we got tentative, said Slotsve.

Hoff scored nine of the next 11 Mandan points to trim the lead to 66-60 with 2:55 left. Steve Pletan buried a three to get within 66-64 with 1:47 left.

The Coyotes went 2-of-4 at the line to still lead 68-66 with 38 seconds left, but Cody Morell stepped up to knock down two free throws to tie the game at 68.

With 20 seconds left the Coyotes had to settle for a long three by Jordan Braun at the buzzer.  We said we wanted to get the last shot and not give them a chance. We maybe didn t get the best shot, but I was happy with it, said Slotsve.

Overtime was back and forth, but with a 74-all tie with 1:33 left, Morrell stepped up again, draining a three-pointer.

 We told the guys someone would need to play above where they play, and tonight Cody was that guy, said Mandan coach Kurt Miller. Morrell had three three-pointers and 11 points for the Braves.

Williston couldn t answer and Pletan hit 3-of-4 at the charity stripe to push the lead to 80-74 with 22 seconds left to seal the win despite back-to-back buckets by Hughes.

Williston had five players in double figures led by Michael DeLorme s 20 points, including four threes. He hit one at the halftime buzzer to trim the Williston deficit to 34-32.

Qvale followed with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Braun added 11 points and five assists, and Jeff Skadeland and Hughes each chipped in 10 points. The Coyotes forced Mandan into 24 turnovers, while committing just 14, but Mandan had a 10-5 advantage in three-pointers.

Hoff paced the Braves with 27 points, with three treys, while Kielpinski scored 12 and Pletan added 11.

 Mandan (80) - Andy Hoff 8-13 8-8 27, Bryan Kielpinski 5-7 2-5 12, Steve Pletan 3-11 3-6 11, Cody Morell 3-5 2-2 11, Jared Muth 2-6 2-2 7, Jordan Mauer 2-4 3-4 7, Jordan Thilmony 1-2 0-0 3, Tommy Kranda 1-4 0-0 2. Totals: 25-52 20-27 60.

Williston (78) - Mike DeLorme 7-17 2-3 20, Brent Qvale 6-11 5-8 17, Jordan Braun 4-11 3-4 11, Cameron Hughes 5-8 0-3 10, Jeff Skadeland 4-6 2-4 10, Cameron McFarlin 3-8 1-3 8, Taylor Grundstad 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 30-67 13-25 78.

Mandan      34    34    12    -     80

Williston   32    36    10    -     78

Three-pointers: Mandan 10 (Morrell 3, Hoff 3, Pletan 2, Thilmony 1, Muth 1), Williston 5 (Delorme 4, McFarlin 1). Rebounds: Mandan 40 (Kielpinski 10), Williston 34 (Qvale 10). Fouls: Mandan 23, Williston 23. Fouled out: none. Assists: Mandan 15 (Muth 4, Mauer 4), Williston 10 (Braun 5). Turnovers: Mandan 24, Williston 14.