In a repeat of the late game dramatics in the first half of the nsic doubleheader, the concordia university men's baskteball team (14-4, 8-2 nsic) was propelled to victory over msu moorhead (9-10, 4-6 nsic) thanks to a three-point field goal by senior point guard joey peel with 6.8 seconds to play to give the golden bears an 81-79 overtime victory over the dragons.

concordia trailed 79-78 until peel sank the three-pointer from just to the left of the top of the key on a pass from senior guard kyle marxhausen from the baseline through traffic. Marxhausen led the golden bears with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes.

in overtime, concordia took the first lead when marxhausen was fouled on a fastbreak layup and converted the free throw to give cu a 72-69 lead.

msu moorhead would score the next seven points to take a four point lead, 76-72 with 2:31 to play in the extra session.

freshman forward craig heiman answered the call, stepping up and drilling a three-pointer to cut the gap to one. Heiman finished with 14 points on 5-10 shooting in 20 minutes off the bench.

after trading failed offensive possessions, the dragons' kyle nelson delivered a layup to put msum back on top by three, 78-75 with 1:00 on the clock.

on the ensuing possession for concordia, another freshman stepped up and delivered in the clutch as guard mike cunningham knocked down a three-pointer to knot the score at 78 with :41. That was three of cunningham's 12 points. He was 4-5 from the field and grabbed five rebounds.

the dragons were fouled with :23 left and lee isaacson made one of two at the line to put msum ahead 79-78 before marxhausen found peel who hit the game-winner with 6.8 seconds to play.

msu moorhead's blake strouth had one final chance at a three-pointer, but his shot sailed well short as time expired.

concordia trailed 37-32 at the half with the dragons extending their lead to 38-32 on an early free throw.

from there the bears held the dragons scoreless for the next 4:43 as concordia clawed back to take a 39-38 lead at the 15:06 mark on a pair of marlon walker (right, facing up before he drills a three) free throws. Walker finished with 14 points on 5-6 shooting and also pulled down four rebounds and four steals.

from there, the two teams would trade blow-for-blow as they jockeyed for position in a game that saw 16 lead changes and seven ties.

the bears built a five point lead, 46-41 but saw that evaporate when msum countered with the next 10 points to take a 51-46 lead with 10:05 to play in regulation.

neither team would lead by more than five the rest of the way.

concordia led 69-67 when cunningham delivered one of two from the foul line after he was fouled on a fastbreak layup attempt (pictured left) with :32 to play.

the dragons would miss their attempt to tie the score with :23 but a turnover by the bears in their own backcourt allowed jamal o'neal to tie the game with four seconds and send it into overtime.

five players scored in double-figures for concordia as senior guard cortez forte (right) added 12 points and four assists to join marxhausen, walker, heiman and cunningham.

the bears shot 53.4% (31-58) as a team while holding the dragons to just 36.6% (26-71) from the field but the bears struggled at the foul line, hitting just 55.0% (11-20) compared to msu moorhead's 75.0% (18-24).

the bears also lost the turnover battle, committing 21 while forcing just 11 which led to a 25-10 advantage for the dragons in points off turnovers.

but concordia's field goal shooting combined with edging the dragons 41-37 on the glass were enough to seal a victory.

the dragons were led by strouth's 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals. Isaacson added 15 points and seven rebounds for msum.

the win for cu puts them in a tie for second in the northern sun with sw minnesota state at 8-2. It also extends their season record to 14-4.

the bears return to action next weekend when they host minnesota, crookston and bemidji state on feb. 2-3 at 8:00.