The Southwestern men let a golden opportunity slip away here Wednesday in a 79-76 loss to North Iowa Area Community College.

Going into the final three conference games against NIACC, at second-place Kirkwood and at home March 2 against Iowa Central, coach Mike Holmes felt winning two of three would solidify a spot in the top four. That would mean a home game to start the regional tournament.

The Spartans raced to an 11-0 lead in the opening 3:30 of the game Wednesday, prompting NIACC coach Mark Mohl to burn two early timeouts.