MSU Moorhead scored six unanswered points in the final two minutes to snap a 62-62 tie and go on to a 69-65 win over Wayne State in the opening round of the Northern Sun Conference men's basketball tournament Wednesday in Moorhead, Minn.
The host Dragons led early 4-2, then Wayne State (10-22) used eight straight points from sophomore Nick Ferrarini on a jumper and pair of 3-pointers to take a 10-4 lead.
The Wildcats pushed the lead to seven at 16-9 on a layup from Al’Tavius Jackson, but the Dragons made a charge at Wayne State and closed within one at 22-21 on a Bryce Irsfeld 3-pointer. Moorhead (18-11) tied the score at 26-26 with 7:08 left in the half, but Wayne State closed the first half with four straight points from Ben Dentlinger to take a 40-31 lead at intermission.
The Wildcats continued to maintain their lead in the second half until the final five minutes when the host Dragons rallied.
Wayne State took their biggest lead of the night at 47-37 on a Jordan Janssen basket with 17:41 remaining, but Moorhead held the Wildcats without a point for the next 5:10 and tied the score at 47-47.
The Wildcats rebounded and scored nine of the next 11 points to take a 56-49 lead following a jumper from Dentlinger with 8:29 to play, but the Dragons came back and tied the game at 59-59 on a Nathan Rund 3-pointer at the 6:14 mark, then took their first lead since 4-2 on a Irsfeld free throw with 4:25 to play.
Trailing 62-59, Wayne State used a Nate Mohr jumper and a free throw by Mohr to tie the game for the final time at 62-62 with 2:22 left, but Moorhead took the lead for good on a layup by Dane Zimmer with :37 left.
After a Wildcat missed shot and turnover, Irsfeld made four free throws to give MSUM a 68-62 lead. Mohr made a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left, and Moorhead’s Johnny Beeninga made one of two free throws to finish the Dragon victory.
Ferrarini scored 15 points for Wayne State. Dentlinger finished with 14 followed by Jordan Janssen with 13 points and 14 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the season. Mohr also reached double figures with 11 points. Gavin Baumgartner scored a game-high 21 points for the Dragons. Dane Zimmer and Bryce Irsfeld each accounted for 14 points with Kaedrick Williams scoring 11.
Janssen led the Wildcats with 14 rebounds and seven assists.
