BISMARCK, N.D. – Bismarck State men's basketball came out on fire and traded blows with MSU-Northern for the full 40 minutes on Saturday night, but the game went to the Lights as they hit the game-winning three as time expired to win 83-80 at the BSC Armory.

After a hard-fought defeat the night before, the Mystics came out with a vengeance, starting hot to build a 17-4 lead just over six minutes after the opening tip. Cater Zeller provided the exclamation point with a put-back layup to put BSC up 13 and score his seventh point in as many minutes.

That moment marked the Mystics' largest lead of the night as the Lights came storming back to tie the game at 19 before the halfway point of the half. BSC wouldn't be sent away, however, as they traded blows with MSU-Northern until halftime, where they trailed by a single point at 40-39.

The Lights came out of halftime on a mission as they built their biggest advantage of the night with a 62-54 lead halfway into the final frame. The Mystics again would not be leaving without a fight as they clawed their way back to retake the lead twice, thanks to shots from Jah Gulley and Houston Davis with under eight minutes to go. 

MSU-Northern would regain a six-point advantage at the five-minute mark, and yet again the Mystics responded to keep the game at arm's reach with a one-possession deficit until the final minute.

With 54 seconds remaining, Gulley called a timeout to give Kevin Rice's squad a chance to game-plan with time running out and needing a three-pointer to tie.

The plan worked as Gulley found Alex Proctor on the top of the arc, and he sank his three to knot the game up at 80 with 34 seconds left. Timeout Lights.

34 seconds meant that MSU-Northern could exhaust as much of their 30-second shot clock as possible to give themselves a possible two opportunities to score the game-winner. The Lights did exactly that, firing a shot from deep as the shot clock expired. That shot from the corner fell short and bounced of the right side of the iron, across a sea of Light and Mystic arms, and into the awaiting hands of Austin Ramos. 

Ramos had time to dribble to the top of the arc, pump fake a leaping Proctor, and put up a three that found the bottom of the net as time expired, sending the Lights into a celebration, tackling Ramos all the way on the opposite end of the floor. 

The game didn't end there; however, the game clock was stopped inadvertently when the shot clock expired, potentially extending the game. The officials placed 0.7 seconds back on the game clock to adjust for the stoppage and give the Mystics one final shot.

It was in vain, as their final heave didn't fall through, giving MSU-Northern the 83-80 victory.

Houston Davis led the Mystics in scoring with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Jah Gulley was right behind him with 17 points, along with Alex Proctor and Carter Zeller, who also scored in double figures with 15 and 14, respectively.

As a team, BSC shot 29-of-63 (46%) from the field and outscored MSUN in points-in-the-paint, 34-24. MSU-Northern, however, shot a very efficient 30-of-54 from the field and 40.6 percent from deep.

Up next for the Mystics is a pair of conference road games on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 & 7. They head to Dillon, Mont., on Friday for a matchup with Montana Western (14-8, 9-7).

Following Friday's game, they head to Butte, Mont., to take on the No. 20-ranked Montana Tech Orediggers (16-6, 10-6). Both games are scheduled for 8 p.m. CT (7 p.m. MT).

Check out the men's schedule for information on how to follow and watch the team during their upcoming games, and attend the final two home games.
 

Be sure to visit BSCMystics.com and download the MysticNation app to continue to stay up to date with everything going on in Mystic Athletics.

FOLLOW THE MYSTICS
Facebook: @BSCMystics
Instagram: @gomystics
X: @BSCMystics
YouTube: @GoMystics
#GoMystics