Crucial free throws usually happen at the end of a contest. But if you aren't willing to believe that an innocuous little midgame freebie can alter the destiny of a game -- or even an entire season -- then consider what happened Thursday night in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The scene: a Rainbow Classic semifinal contest between the Southland Conference's Northwestern State and Big 12 member Iowa State. With 10:36 remaining in a tight second half, Curtis Stinson of Iowa State toed the line after a two-shot foul. He didn't only miss the free throw -- he banged the ball off the bottom of the rim and it fell straight down to the floor. Despite Stinson's display of Advanced Bricklaying, the official scorer awarded the Cyclones a point for the free throw. It was one in a string of nine unanswered points that gave Iowa State a lead heading into the stretch against an NSU squad that's already beaten one Big 12 club this year: Oklahoma State.
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