It was a thrilling Saturday night at the Rice Auditorium. Two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference foes fought back-and-forth for 40 minutes and it wasn't enough. Wayne State College needed overtime to finally put away the University of Minnesota Duluth 88-86 in Wayne, Neb.
 
The Wildcats have now taken the last three from the Bulldogs as they increased their record 12-12 and 7-9 in the NSIC. UMD, which gained at least a split in the last two weekend road trips, dropped to 9-12 and 5-10 in the NSIC.
 
Neither defense could stop the other offense from executing in the opening 20 minutes. The Wildcats shot a blistering 62.5 percent in the half and 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from three. The Bulldogs countered hitting a season-high first-half 74.1 percent and connected on seven of their nine from deep. UMD had a six-point lead at the half.
 
A 12-2 run to begin the second by Wayne State gave the Wildcats the lead four-and-a-half minutes into the final half. Each club traded baskets the next few minutes before UMD gained the lead briefly on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Trevor Entwisle. Jordan Cornelius hit back-to-back buckets from behind the arc to give the Wildcats to lead back.
 
The Bulldogs didn't go down easy.
 
Trailing 76-70 with 75 seconds left, sophomore guard Logan Rohrscheib drained a three to slice the lead in half. Entwisle, off a second chance effort, swished a desperation 30-footer to tie the game with seconds remaining. Junior guard Manado Ngom, who corralled the offensive board, deflected the final shot of regulation.
 
Junior forward Sean Burns had the Bulldogs' first four points in overtime and sophomore guard Brandon Myer knocked down the last four in the five-minute session. Myer had a chance to tie the game again to force a second overtime but his shot was off the mark.
 
Myer finished with a team-high 20 points as he was one of four UMD players to register double figures. Burns posted 18 points and eight rebounds. Rohrscheib (17 points) and Entwisle (14) each were 4-for-5 from three-point range. Entwisle led all players with six assists.
 
UMD returns to Romano Gymnasium next week for its longest homestand of the season. Its five-game homestand will start Friday (Feb. 2) versus Minnesota State University, Mankato.