PIERRE — If it seems like he’s repeating himself, Pierre coach Terry Becker completely understands.

But it doesn’t make what he’s saying any less true.

The Governors had another frustrating weekend, dropping a 56-43 decision to Brookings on Friday night before taking Sioux Falls Washington to overtime on Saturday afternoon and losing 69-62.

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“I was really happy with our effort on Saturday, especially compared to Friday,” Becker said. “We were down 13-2 at one point but we battled back in the second and third and we had a lead in the fourth, we just couldn’t close it out.”

Pierre was down 24-11 after one quarter — and had trailed for the entire game Friday. But the Govs cut into the Washington lead, outscoring the Warriors in the final three frames to send the game to an extra session. There, Washington once again took over, outscoring Pierre 11-4 to leave town with the win.

“When you get down to a four-minute overtime, whoever makes a few plays, they’re going to win, and Washington just made the plays,” Becker said.

Pierre got the balanced scoring it has searched for all season, as four Governors scored in double figures.

Zach Hanson bounced back from a tough game Friday to score 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds, both game highs. Travis Adney pentrated and got to the line and finished with 11 points, as did Lane Severyn. And Scott Cichos continued his solid play for Pierre, scoring 10 and grabbing four boards.

Washington (9-5) was led by Matt Hermanson’s 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Governors’ Saturday spark stood in contrast to a largely listless Friday effort, when Pierre trailed the visitors from Brookings for the entire game and never really made a run.

Pierre had no answer for the Bobcats’ Ryan McCutcheon on the inside or for Pierre native Landon Busch on the dribble. Both burned the Govs for 17 points, and the Bobcats (6-8) coasted to and ESD win.

“We keep banging on it and I think the guys are learning about the amount of energy and effort you have to have every night to compete in our league,” Becker said. “That has been a tough trait to instill, but I think they are starting to understand.”

Cichos led the Governors on Friday with 18 points, while Hanson pulled down eight rebounds.

The Governors (2-11, 0-7 ESD) continue a busy calendar to close out the season, and still have time to get on a late-season roll.

Pierre plays a makeup game at Aberdeen on Tuesday night, followed by a Friday night road game at Watertown and a Saturday night home date with Yankton this week. The Govs then get Aberdeen in the return match a week from Tuesday at Riggs Gym.

“I think I figured it out, and after that Aberdeen game got cancelled, we went nine or 10 practices without a game, and now we’re in a stretch of nine games in 21 days,” Becker said. “But that’s good. I think the kids are ready to play games and we have traditionally been able to go on a run during this time of year.”

The pieces seem evident, and Pierre just keeps working on putting together the whole picture.

“I know it sounds like the same thing I’ve been saying, but sometimes you’ve got to learn how to win,” Becker said. “You hope that some of these losses are showing the kids what not to do, and that they’re a part of the process, that we’re starting to get over the hump.”