FARGO, N.D.--Josh Vaughan made three free throws to force overtime and Michael Tveidt scored all of his game-high 17 points after halftime to lead North Dakota State to a 63-59 victory over Western Illinois in Summit League men's basketball Saturday, Feb. 27.

North Dakota State improved to 11-17 overall and finished sixth in The Summit League with an 8-10 record.  Western Illinois slipped to 13-16 overall and finished seventh in the league with a 6-12 record.

NDSU trailed 53-50 after David Nurse made a pair of free throws with 6.6 seconds left.  But Nurse fouled Vaughan on a 3-point attempt with 1.2 seconds left in regulation, and the NDSU senior made all three shots to tie the game at 53.

Western Illinois scored the first overtime points on a Quenton Kirby basket at the 3:57 mark, but NDSU tied it at 55 on a Drew Lundberg basket and went ahead for good on Tveidt's 3-pointer that made it 58-55 with 1:15 left.

Tveidt, who missed two free throws when the Bison trailed 49-48 with 12.3 seconds left in regulation, returned to the foul line to sink two shots and seal the victory with 3.1 seconds left in OT.

NDSU led 27-18 at halftime, but the Bison made only one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the second half and allowed Western Illinois to go ahead for the first time 36-34 on Nurse's 3-pointer at the 10:58 mark.

Tveidt answered by scoring 10 of NDSU's next 12 points to put the Bison ahead 46-45 with 2:26 to play, but Western Illinois inched ahead making 8 of 10 free throws before the end of regulation.

North Dakota State shot 38 percent from the field and had three players in double figures.  Sam Sussenguth scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half and Eric Carlson had seven of his 10 points before halftime.

Ceola Clark led the Fighting Leathernecks with 15 points and three steals, and Nurse finished with 12 points and four rebounds.  Western Illinois shot 37 percent overall.

Emeka Okafor Jr. grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Western Illinois, which had a 35-31 edge on the boards.  Vaughan and Austin Pennick had five rebounds apiece for NDSU.

A crowd of 4,207 was on hand at the Bison Sports Arena.  It was the second largest crowd of the season.

North Dakota State will play third-seeded Oral Roberts (19-12, 13-5) in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament at 8:30 p.m. Sunday, March 7, at Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Oral Roberts beat North Dakota State twice this year, 65-59 in Fargo and 71-57 in Tulsa, Okla.