Neither a relentless three-point attack nor a late comeback could put the Haskell Indian Nations University men’s basketball team over the top.

Ottawa University, sparked by a 16-0 run midway through the second half, fought off the pesky Fightin’ Indians and held on for a 77-67 victory Friday at Haskell.

“This was a game we could’ve won at home,” HINU assistant coach Jamie Morrison said. “They were struggling like we were struggling coming in. We didn’t make shots, and we didn’t make plays in the second half that we needed to make.”

Haskell relied heavily on its three-point shooting all night, but hit just 28 percent (11 of 40) overall. HINU’s top two threats from outside – Justin Falleaf and Danny Polk – combined to connect on just nine of 28 threes.

“That is our strength,” Morrison said. “We have four or five guys that can shoot the three. We made a lot tonight, but we took a lot, too.”

Haskell started the game on a 14-5 run, sparked by six points from Michael King. Ottawa, though, fought back, took a 23-21 lead, and never trailed again.

Not that Haskell didn’t keep things interesting. After Ottawa’s big burst midway through the second half put them up 62-42, the Indians slowly chiseled away at the lead,. Behind long-range shooting from Polk and Andy Deal, HINU sliced the deficit to 71-62.

“We made a nice run at the end,” Morrison said, “but to really get back in it, we needed a lot of things to happen.”

Haskell was forced to foul, and Ottawa came through from the free-throw stripe. Braves’ guard PJ Siggal knocked down four straight free throws, extending Ottawa’s lead to 13, and delivering the knockout blow.

“It’s always disappointing to lose, but the guys showed some character down the stretch by making that run and not hanging their heads. It got pretty exciting there for a minute.”

Polk led the Indians’ scoring with 15 points, while Falleaf added 12 on four three-pointers. Bret Lickteig had 23 points to pace Ottawa.

Haskell won’t have any time to rest, as travel to Central Methodist for a game at 7:30 tonight.

“They’re a ranked team, it’s going to be in their place, back-to-back nights, a long trip,” Morrison said. “It’s not going to be easy. We have to come out and play with some intensity and desire.”