RAPID CITY - Custer's Luke Roddy stripped the ball from Red Cloud's Carl Swallow with 14 seconds left and Jake Roddy converted the turnover into the game-winning basket, leading the Wildcats to a

68-66 win in the second round the Lakota National Invitational at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

"We haven't been playing with that intensity," Custer head coach Larry Luitjens said. "The key to tonight's game was our defense and how we held them scoreless down the stretch to give us the opportunity to win it in the end."

The game was a see-saw affair and tied at 49 until Swallow topped off an 8-0 run by draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put his team up 57-49 with seven minutes remaining. However, the Wildcats stepped up their defense and for the next four and a half minutes held Red Cloud without a field goal, sparking a 10-1 run of their own to take the lead, 59-58, with less than three minutes to play.

Swallow, who led his team with 26 points, began to heat up, scoring a driving lay-up and one of his game-leading, five 3-pointers to put his team up one with less than two minutes to play.

Jake Roddy, who led his team with 33 points, would answer quickly as he shredded the defense and took the dribble-drive all the way to the hole, putting his team back on top 63-62 with 1:22 to play.

"Jake Roddy finally is playing the way he is capable of playing and when he, as the leader of this team, plays hard defense, the rest of the team steps up and plays (defense)," Luitjens said.

Swallow grabbed an offensive rebound off his own missed shot, going hard into the lane, scoring the bucket and drawing the foul. Swallow hit the free throw, giving Red Cloud a 66-64 lead with 1:02 remaining.

With less than 30 seconds remaining, Jake Roddy drove by his defender and laid in the game-tying bucket, setting up the game-winning heroics.

"We really improved on our defense since our last game and that is why we won this game," Jake Roddy said. "It was a little bit of luck. The ball hit my knee and went in the direction of Luke (Roddy) and that is when I just took off sprinting the other way and looked up for the pass."

Swallow would have a last-ditch effort to win the game, but his shot at the buzzer hit the front of the rim.

"I think if I wouldn't have twisted my ankle right before I put up the shot, it would've had a chance to go in," Swallow said.

Red Cloud committed 20 turnovers in the loss.

"Twenty turnovers," Red Cloud head coach Matt Rama said. "We have the ball in our hands with the game tied and don't even get off a shot. I just felt like we beat ourselves."

Justin Dillon added 16 points for Custer.

Custer (4-0 overall) will play Cheyenne-Eagle Butte tonight and Red Cloud (3-1) will play against Pine Ridge as the LNI tournament continues in Rapid City.