MINOT, N.D. – Dunwa Omot hit two free throws with 13 seconds remaining to snap a tie game and lift Southwest Minnesota State to a thrilling 65-63 victory over Minot State on Saturday night in NSIC men's college basketball inside the Minot State Dome.
 
SMSU, which blew a late lead on Friday night in a road loss at UMary on Friday, rebounded on Saturday to improve to 10-5 overall, 6-4 NSIC, while MSU drops to 7-7 overall, 4-6 NSIC.
 
Following the free throws by Omot, MSU's Camron Dufee missed the potential game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.
 
Omot led the Mustangs with a game-high 14 points, while Noah Chamberlain scored a career-high 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting with a 3-pointer. Cliff McCray also scored in double figures with 11 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. Jakob Braaten added six points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Mustangs.
 
SMSU closed the night shooting 42 percent (25 of 59) from the field, but made just 4 of 16 from 3-point range. The Mustangs held a 37-35 rebound advantage
 
MSU was held to 35 percent (23 of 66) shooting, while making 7 of 31 from 3-point range.  
 
Jalen Cook led a balanced MSU attack with 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting.
 
The Beavers opened the game strong using a pair of Jaxon Gunville 3-pointers to take their largest lead of the game at 15-7 with 12 minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the opening half.
 
Jake Phipps would hit a jumper to spark an 8-1 run by the Mustangs capped off by a Majok Majouk dunk to cut the deficit to 16-15 at the 9:35 mark.
 
McCray would later complete a three-point play to give the Mustangs their first lead of the game at 18-17 with 8:23 remaining.
 
MSU would go back in front at 30-29 with three minutes remaining but Phipps put SMSU back in the lead with a jumper and was followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by Sam Schwartz and Chamberlain to give the Mustangs their largest lead of the half at 37-30.
 
Chamberlain would close the half with a free throw to give SMSU a 38-32 advantage into the halftime break.
 
SMSU shot 48 percent in the first half with four 3-pointer, while MSU was limited to 38 percent shooting.
 
SMSU would maintain the lead in the second half and used a 6-0 run capped by a Omot layup to build a 52-43 lead with 11:30 left in the game.
 
The Mustangs held a 55-47 lead with eight minutes remaining but the Beavers put up a big fight and used a 10-0 run over a two-minute span to regain the lead at 57-55.
 
McCray answered with a game-tying layup at the 5:10 mark before Omot put the Mustangs back in the lead with 3:47 remaining at 59-57. Following another missed MSU jumper, McCray scored another jumper to extend the margin to 61-57 with just under three minutes remaining.
 
MSU continued to battle and would tie the game with two free throws with 1:35 on the clock. Following possessions by both teams that failed to score any points, Omot put SMSU back in the lead with a field goal with 38 seconds remaining. MSU however had an answer and used a reverse layup by Dunfee on its ensuing possession to tie the game at 63.
 
On the next SMSU possession, Omot drove to the basket and was fouled with 13 seconds on the clock. It was the first foul called on MSU in nearly nine minutes, but sent Omot to the line to shoot one-and-one. He calmly made both free throws to help SMSU finish the game 11 of 13 overall and seal the victory.
 
SMSU continues play versus NSIC North Division foes next weekend hosting MSU Moorhead on Friday and Northern State on Saturday. Both teams are sitting atop the North standings with just one league loss. The games are the first of two on a four-game home stand inside the R/A Facility.