Morris, Minn. – Visiting Bethany Lutheran tied the game at the buzzer before handing the Minnesota Morris men's basketball team a 79-75 loss in overtime tonight (Jan. 20) in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play on Jim Gremmels Court.

A full court pass with just 1.3 seconds left hit off a mess of leaping Cougars and Vikings before being picked up and tossed in on a prayer as the buzzer and backboard lights went off, by Bethany Lutheran's Derek Peterson, forcing the extra session.

Twice in the previous 25 seconds, it looked as if the Cougars (4-9, 2-2 UMAC) had it won, first when Derek Schmidt (East Grand Forks, Minn.) hit a shot in traffic to go up 67-65 with under 30 seconds to go, and again when Brendon Foss (Hancock, Minn.) connected from under the basket to give the Cougars a 69-67 lead with just 1.3 to go.

But each bucket came with controversy, first when Schmidt was called for a foul after coming down from his shot, giving the Vikings a pair of free throws to tie it, and then after Foss' make, the officials put 1.3 seconds on the clock after it was initially stopped at 0.6.

The Vikings (6-9, 4-0 UMAC ) took advantage and made the most of their opportunities, taking the momentum from their desperation game-tier into overtime where the outscored the Cougars 10-to-6 to finish off the win.

Bethany Lutheran made five of their eight free throw attempts in the extra session – compared to just 3-of-5 for Morris – which was a microcosm of the game, as the Vikings made better than 80% (22-of-26) of their trips to the line while the Cougars finished under 70%.

Foss finished with a game and career high 21 (bettering his 20 from earlier this season), leading four different Cougars in double figures, while also pulling down a team high seven rebounds. Schmidt finished with 17, going 4-of-5 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the line, with Ben Hoidal (Forest Lake, Minn.) and Logan Orazem (Mora, Minn.) each adding 10.

Orazem gave the Cougars their biggest lead of the game at 12 points with his three-pointer late in the first that put his squad up 37-25.  

The Vikings countered with a 8-to-0 run to close the half and trail just four at 37-33 heading in the halftime, and had the lead erased by the 17:31 mark of the second. The win keeps the Vikings as the last unbeaten in UMAC play, and is their first over the Cougars since the 2008 UMAC tournament and first in Morris since the 2006-07 season.

The Cougar shot better from long range (including four threes from Foss and three from Orazem) and out-rebounded the Vikings, but it wasn't enough to offset the disparity at the line, and eliminate the chance for the last-second heroics.

Morris won't get to worry about it for long, though, as they take the court again tomorrow, hosting Martin Luther at 5:00 p.m., looking to get back in track in UMAC play.