The two teams were tied 78-78 at the end of regulation and after Andrew Freeman put Illinois Wesleyan ahead 80-78 just :11 into overtime, the Vikings went to work. Jay McAdams-Thornton, who earlier in the game became the 21st player in Augustana history to score 1,000 career points, muscled in a basket to tie the game at 80-80. Pat Brusveen then hit a monster three point shot at 3:47 to give the Vikings a lead they would never relinquish.
Rick Harrigan scored six straight points, the last coming on a three point field goal at 1:07 to put his team in front 89-83. Augustana made four free throws in the final :47 to keep the Titans at bay.
Augustana had a seven point lead early in the game (20-13 at 11:58) but Wesleyan went on a 24-13 run over the final 8:52 of the first half to claim a 45-42 lead at intermission. In the second half the Titans led by as many as nine (57-48 at 14:58) but the Vikings eventually tied it 71-71 with 4:15 left on a pair of free throws by Dain Swetalla. Augustana led 78-76 when Swetalla hit two more free throws with 1:11 left but Freeman’s basket with :18 remaining tied the game at 78-78 and forced overtime.
Harrigan led the Vikings in scoring with 26 points while Swetalla scored a career high 20 and hauled down seven rebounds. McAdams-Thornton was also in double figures with 12 points. Drew Wessels turned in a solid overall game with seven points, seven rebounds, six assists and just one turnover in 37 minutes worth of work.
Augustana shot .509 (28-55) from the field and was .478 (11-23) from three point range. Illinois Wesleyan shot a torrid .593 (16-27) from the floor in the first half but the Viking defense forced the Titans into a .364 (12-33) performance in the second half and overtime.
Illinois Wesleyan, which fell to 18-5 and 8-5, got 17 points each from Keelan Amelianovich and Zach Freeman, who also pulled down a game high 10 rebounds.