Pat McDonald (Sr.-Port Washington, Wis.) scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half and the Lakeland University men's basketball team edged Rockford University 73-70 Thursday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

McDonald made a corner three-pointer with 4 minutes 15 seconds left in regulation to break a 68-68 tie and the Muskies withstood a ragged final few minutes both ways and a tying three-point attempt in the final seconds. Lakeland kept its Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament hopes alive for the time being, improving to 11-13 overall and 9-10 in conference.

The Muskies and Regents were as evenly matched as could be, with the game featuring 12 ties and 14 lead changes. Neither team led by more than five points in the contest or scored more than six straight points in the entire game.

Lakeland gained the advantage at the end by holding Rockford (12-12 overall, 11-8 NACC) to just two points in the final 4:58, including a scoreless stretch of more than four minutes. The Muskies gained the upper hand on McDonald's three-pointer and went ahead by five on a layup by Zach Hasenstein (So.-Sheboygan, Wis.) with 2:10 left, but then had to hold on as both teams committed multiple turnovers in the final minute.

A miss on the front end of a one-and-one free throw chance gave the Regents one final chance to tie it in the closing seconds. Rockford struggled to get a good shot, though, and Kivontay Shaw's leaning three-point attempt with four seconds left hit the back rim and bounced off.

McDonald made 6 of 7 shots in the second half and 7 of 10 in the game in scoring a game-high 21 points. Eric Nygaard (Sr.-Plymouth, Wis.) also finished with 17 points and added game honors with nine rebounds, and Hasenstein also added 15 points.

Lakeland shot 30-for-72 (41.7%) and struggled from long range, hitting 6 of 28 shots (21.4%). The Muskies did outrebound Rockford 39-38, a huge turnaround after the Regents one the battle of the boards 60-33 in the teams' first meeting in January.

Tony Diemer scored 17 points to lead Rockford, which shot 46.9% (30 of 64) but committed 17 turnovers.

Lakeland wraps up the regular season and will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday when it hosts Dominican University at 3 p.m.