FOND DU LAC – Jequan Pegeese (Jr.-Beloit, Wis.) scored a career-high 31 points and the Lakeland University men's basketball team held off Marian University 89-87 in overtime Saturday afternoon on the road in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game.

The Muskies bounced back in overtime after the Sabres hit a tying three-pointer at the buzzer of regulation. Lakeland never trailed in the extra period in winning its second straight NACC game this week, and also winning at Marian for the third straight year and in overtime at the Sabres' Sadoff Gymnasium for the second time in three years.

The Muskies (3-4 overall, 2-1 NACC) saw a nine-point lead slip away in the final 1 minute, 38 seconds of regulation as Marian ended regulation on a 10-1 run to force overtime. The Sabres (1-7 overall, 1-3 NACC) tied it when Logan Hamilton made a triple as the buzzer sounded, the first time Marian was that close since a 48-48 tie with 14:48 left in the second half.

Lakeland scored the first four points of overtime, though, with a layup by Carlos Campos (Sr.-Janesville, Wis.) and two free throws by Zach Hasenstein (Jr.-Sheboygan, Wis.) giving the Muskies an 85-81 lead. The Sabres would get back as close as one point on two occasions, but a layup by Trenton Nickel (Jr.-Kiel, Wis.) made it 89-86 with 2:27 remaining, and there would be just one more point the rest of the way, when Hamilton split two free throws with 42 seconds left. Marian had a chance to tie just before the buzzer, but a jumper by Justin Wilson was off target.

The Muskies led for much of the final 22 minutes of regulation after rallying to take a 36-35 lead with 1:37 left in the first half on a jumper by Pegeese. Lakeland had was down as much as eight in the first half but took a 39-35 lead into halftime and after the break trailed only by two points on three occasions early in the second half.

Pegeese scored 16 points in the first half and added 15 in the second half to blow away his previous Lakeland career best of 20 set earlier this calendar year Feb. 9 against Benedictine. He made 9 of 13 shots from the field and also 13 of 15 from the free throw line, a place where the Muskies spent a good share of the game. Lakeland made 28 of 35 from the line (80.0%), shooting 22 more free throws than the Sabres.

The Muskies also committed just 10 turnovers to Marian's 19, resulting in a 23-13 advantage in points off turnovers. The Sabres countered by shooting 52.2% for the game (35 of 67), hitting 10 of 27 from three-point range and also outrebounding Lakeland 39-32.

Campos also scored 20 points, making 10 of 12 free throw attempts, and Nickel added 10 points off the bench. Hasenstein also added six points, seven rebounds and a team-high five assists. The Muskies shot 45.2% for the game, making 28 of 62 from the field.

Lakeland returns to the court Tuesday night when it travels to Manitowoc to face Holy Family (formerly Silver Lake) College at 7 p.m.