Dennis Austin III's final shot proved to be the difference maker in a back-and-forth nail biter.

The University of Mary guard hit the game-winning three in heroic fashion to seize the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference victory from the University of Minnesota Duluth Saturday night. Austin raised up from the left corner and buried the shot with 0.2 seconds left to lift the Marauders over the Bulldogs 73-70 in overtime at the McDowell Activity Center in Bismarck, N.D.

Both teams were evenly matched all night, and they probably would have been tightly contested if both teams were to continue to battle. Mary had its biggest lead of nine in the first half and UMD countered with an eight-point lead in the second. Neither team led by more than one possession in the overtime session or in the last two minutes of regulation.

Similar to last night, the Bulldogs were holding on to the lead late in crunch time. UMD was unable to hold on like it did the night before. Jaylen White washed away the lead after converting a rare four-point play to knot things at 57.
The Bulldogs and Marauders played to a 61-61 stalemate after UMD couldn't end the game on the final possession of regulation. Junior Brandon Myer had his jumper rim out and senior forward Sean Burns could only gather the offensive board before the clock ran out.

Each team traded buckets in overtime. Junior guard Logan Rohrscheib gave UMD a 66-65 lead on a top-of-the-circle three. It lasted briefly as Mary scored the next play. Burns scored eight of the last 13 points for the Bulldogs including knocking down all four free throws at the end of the second half. Myer knocked down a pair at the line to tie the game with nine seconds left in the extra session. Austin III hit the most important shot, the final one, to seal the victory.

The Marauders improved to 5-4 and 2-1 in conference play while the Bulldogs (5-2; 2-1 NSIC) had their four-game winning streak come to a halt.

Burns carried UMD with a career high 21 points. He pulled down 12 rebounds including six offensive boards. The Bulldogs 38 points in the paint and nine second chance points. Myer established a new career rebounding-high in the loss. The native of Superior, Wis., grabbed four offensive rebounds and 13 more on the defensive end for 17 total. Rohrscheib was the third-and-final Bulldog to reach double figures with 18 points. He had four of UMD's five three-pointers.

Sophomore forward Jake Paper had his best night off the bench in his young career with eight points – tying a career high – and recorded a block with a pin on the backboard and notched his first steal of the season. Paper had all eight of the Bulldogs' bench points.

Next weekend UMD returns home after a three-week absence from Romano Gymnasium to take on the University of Sioux Falls (Friday, Dec. 14) and Southwest Minnesota State University (Saturday, Dec. 15).