PLYMOUTH, Wis. – The Lakeland University men's basketball team bounced back after a lead slipped away in regulation, rallying in overtime for a 94-92 win over Aurora University Saturday afternoon in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies came back from a three-point deficit in overtime, winning the game at the free throw line by making seven straight foul shots in the final 1:46. With the win Lakeland climbed back over the .500 mark for the season at 5-4 and also improved to 2-2 in the NACC.

After trailing for virtually the entire game, Aurora (3-6 overall, 2-2 NACC) took the lead early in overtime and led by three on two occasions, the second time at 88-85 when Shamar Pumphrey made two free throws with 3:34 left.

The Spartans went cold from there, though, going scoreless for more than three minutes, and the Muskies took advantage. Jequan Pegeese (Sr.-Beloit, Wis.) made a layup to draw Lakeland within a point with 2:29 left, and Earl Lewis (Jr.-Madison, Wis.) tied the game 43 seconds later when he split two free throws. Pegeese then made two free throws for a 90-88 lead with 1:20 left, and he would make two more with 51 seconds left for a four-point lead.

Aurora's J.T. Daniels would score with 27 seconds left to get the Spartans within two, but Aiden Polzin (So.-Clintonville, Wis.) would sink two more free throws with 13 seconds to play for a 94-90 lead. Aurora's Nolan Boffman would score on a driving layup with 5.6 seconds left, but the Spartans were unable to foul again after Lakeland's Kai Buliox (So.-Milwaukee, Wis.) got way behind the defense and received a long pass into the front court and was able to dribble out the clock.

The Muskies trailed for exactly six-tenths of a second in regulation, coming only after Aurora's Boffman made two free throws with 51.1 seconds left in the second half to give the guests their first lead of the game at 81-80. Lakeland tied the game with 50.5 seconds remaining when Pegeese split two free throws, and the score would remain tied at the end of regulation after both teams missed opportunities under some bizarre circumstances.

Greg Barber (Sr.-Miami, Fla.) grabbed the rebound after Aurora missed a contested layup with 34 seconds left, but the Muskies turned possession back over due to a 10-second violation after failing to get the ball into the frontcourt in time. The Spartans then were set for a final shot, but were called for a moving screen with eight seconds left, giving Lakeland a final chance. Pegeese would take the final shot but missed a three-pointer just before the buzzer, sending the game to an extra session.

The Muskies led 43-34 at halftime, taking the lead at the start and going ahead by as much as 43-31 late in the half. Aurora closed to within two points on several occasions in the second half, but Lakeland always was able to stretch the lead back out until late. After Buliox scored to give the Muskies a 73-64 lead with 5:10 left in the second half, the Spartans chipped away and tied the game for the first time at 77-77 on a layup by Boffman with 2:46 to play.

Lakeland would pull back ahead by three at 80-77 on two free throws by Polzin with 2:11 left, but the Muskies missed their final three shots and also committed two turnovers in the final two minutes of regulation. Ha'Ashim Keys hit two free throws with two minutes left to draw Aurora within 80-79, and Boffman followed with his two free throws just over a minute later.

Lakeland won despite cooling off in the second half from a good shooting start early. The Muskies shot 46.9% in the first half (15 of 32), including 5 of 12 from three-point range, but hit just 2 of 16 from long range in the second half and overtime. Lakeland also committed 10 of its 16 turnovers in the second half, negating much of an earlier advantage when the Spartans turned the ball over 11 times in the first half.

Cam Jaeger (So.-Oostburg, Wis.) scored 20 points to lead Lakeland, which finished shooting 45.6% (31 of 68) including 7 of 28 from three-point range (25.0%). Pegeese added 19 points, Polzin scored 18 and Barber added 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench. The Muskies also made 25 of 31 from the free throw line (80.6%).

Boffman scored a game-high 26 points for Aurora and Brooks Schoon added 16 points. The Spartans shot 50.0% (34 of 68) from the field and 90.0% (18 of 20) from the free throw line, but attempted 11 less foul shots than Lakeland.
 
The Muskies are off this week for final exams until they will face Lawrence University on Friday for a non-conference game starting at 5 p.m. at the Woltzen Gymnasium.