Box Score MINOT, N.D. – Minot State University couldn't put Wayne State College away.

The Beavers led much of the first and second halves, only to see the Wildcats make a run in each, finally outlasting Minot State 74-70 in overtime in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference men's basketball Friday at the Minot State Dome.

"The last 10 minutes of the game we didn't execute very well on either end, especially the offensive end," said MISU head coach Matt Murken. "I thought we started off the game pretty well. We built up a bit of a cushion and a bit of lead but then we stopped playing team defense and we stopped making things easy for each other for a while there on the offensive end. Second half we came out defensively focused and did a nice job taking them out of their game a little bit."

The Beavers (6-5 overall, 2-5 NSIC) led by as many as 11 early on and held a 10-point lead with 7:43 to play in the game on a three-point play by Thomas Korf (Jr., F, St. Cloud, Minn.).
But Wayne State (5-6, 2-5) continued to chip away like the Wildcats did all night, finally tying the game with 6.8 seconds to play on a layup by Joel Heesch. The Beavers had a good chance at the buzzer but E.J. Williams (Sr., G, Raleigh, N.C.) missed a shot in heavy traffic in the lane.

The Wildcats again spotted Minot State points in overtime as Korf gave the Beavers a 67-65 lead on a pair of free throws, but the Wildcats scored nine of the next 12 points, including four free throws by Adol Aluong late to seal the win.

Free throws were a key to the contest as Minot State missed multiple free throws down the stretch in regulation and in overtime. The Beavers went just 22 of 37 from the strip and despite taking 18 more free throws than WSC, only outscored the Wildcats by seven from the line.

"It was a back-breaker missing those free throws," Murken said. "We had three guys miss free throws in the last few minutes of regulation and if one of those guys makes one more free throw that gives us enough to escape with a victory in regulation."

The Wildcats had solid balance as six players scored nine or more points and four reached double figures. Heesch came off the bench to pace WSC with 13 and led a trio of non-starters with double figures. Wayne State held a 52-17 advantage in bench scoring.

Chris East (Sr., F, Toronto, Ontario) finished with 15 points to lead Minot State. Dominique McDonald (So., G, Raleigh, N.C.) added 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Korf added 10 points in the loss.

The Beavers will finish a two-game home stand with a 6 p.m. matchup with Augustana College Saturday.