MARSHALL, Minn. – Dane Zimmer hit two free throws with six seconds remaining in overtime to give No. 13 MSU Moorhead a 79-77 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in NSIC men's college basketball on Saturday night inside the R/A Facility.
 
SMSU had a chance in the closing seconds to send the game into double overtime, but failed on a pair of field goals in the closing seconds.
 
SMSU, which is ranked in the top 10 in this week's NCAA region rankings, closes the regular season with a mark of 17-11 overall, 14-8 NSIC. SMSU finished fifth at earned the No. 5 seed in the NSIC standings and will host No. 12 St. Cloud State in a first-round game in the NSIC Tournament on Wednesday night with tip-off slated for 5:30.
 
MSUM, 24-4 overall, 18-4 NSIC, tied for second in the NSIC and will receive a first-round bye in the NSIC Tournament.
 
It's the third straight game the two teams have played an overtime game with MSUM winning all three games. The game was tied nine times and featured 12 lead changes.  
 
Zimmer's free throws were set up after the Mustangs were called for a foul on a rebound attempt following a missed jumper with eight seconds remaining.
 
Jake Phipps led SMSU with a game-high 25 points on 10 of 13 shooting with seven rebounds. Aeron Stevens added 22 points and seven rebounds, while Omot added 13 points.
 
SMSU shot 48 percent (28 of 58) from the field, while making 6 of 13 from 3-point range. SMSU, which entered the game third in the league in free throw percentage, struggled in the game, making just 15 of 25 free throw attempts.
 
SMSU played the game without senior guard Cliff Cofield, who missed the game with an injury.
 
MSUM, which finished the night shooting 39 percent (26 of 66), including 6 of 28 from 3-point range, was led by JaMir Price, who scored 20 points on 7 of 15 shooting. Zimmer closed the game with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
 
MSUM held a 41-34 rebound edge, including grabbing 15 offensive rebounds leading to an 18-9 scoring edge in second-chance points.
 
MSUM held a 15-14 lead midway through the first half, but SMSU rallied with a field goal by Phipps, a 3-pointer by Mekhi Shaw and a jumper by Omot to build a 21-15 advantage.
 
SMSU would later use a pair of Stevens field goals to take its largest lead of the half at 31-22 at the 4:55 mark. MSUM cut the deficit to 32-30 with 3:17 left, but was scoreless the remainder of the half. Omot would hit a 3-pointer with just under two minutes remaining to help stake SMSU to a 35-30 halftime lead.
 
SMSU shot 54 percent in the first 20 minutes and limited MSUM to 39 percent shooting.
 
The game was tied at 50 with 11:30 left in the second half before Mason Lund scored a layup to spark a 6-1 run with four straight capped by Stevens to push the Mustang lead to 56-51 with 9:26 left.
 
SMSU would later hold a 59-53 lead with 7:55 on the clock but Ja'Kair Sanchez hit a huge 3-pointer for MSUM to spark a 9-0 run to give the Dragons a 62-59 lead.
 
SMSU later regained the lead at 68-67 with Stevens hitting a pair of free throws with just over two minutes remaining, but Sanchez hit another big 3-pointer at the 1:41 to put MSUM back in front.
 
MSUM led 71-69 with 57 seconds remaining, but Omot answered with a game-tying jumper on the ensuing possession. MSUM missed a pair of 3-pointers on its next possession to send the game into overtime.
 
SMSU would build a 77-74 advantage at the 2:16 mark of overtime following a field goal by Jakob Braaten, but Zimmer converted a three-point play moments later to tie the game at 77.
 
SMSU failed to score the remainder of the game, missing its final five shots, including a shot near the rim in the final seconds.