Mustangs advance to GPAC Championship Game with OT win

SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — This is March. Survive and advance. No matter what basketball postseason adage you want to use, Morningside matched it.

Senior Justin Sitti hit the game-winning 3-pointer with two-tenths of a second left in overtime to advance to the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament championship game with a 109-106 victory over top-seeded Dordt.

Saturday's GPAC semifinal was the first overtime game for the Mustangs this season.

Sitti caught a pass from the other side of the backcourt from Aidan Vanderloo, and in rhythm, Sitti nailed the 3-ball in front of his bench.

The senior from Omaha couldn't hold back the smile after hitting perhaps the biggest shot in his Morningside tenure.

Sitti ended up with a career-high 21 points. He hit all five free throws attempted and connected on seven field goals.

All five Mustangs starters scored in double figures.

Brendan Buckley had a double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds. Buckley hit eight shots and 11 out of 12 free throws. Vanderloo scored 23, Joey Skoff 15, and Daniel Brocaille 12.

In all, the Mustangs were 35-for-37 from the free-throw line, and a perfect 15-for-15 in the second half. The Mustangs also made three of four attempts in the overtime period.

There were 15 ties and 15 lead changes in the contest. Morningside's largest lead was 10 at the midway point of the first half. At that point, Morningside led 27-17 after going on a 19-8 run. The Mustangs dominated in the paint, 48-22.

With the win, Morningside travels to Seward, Nebraska, for the GPAC Championship Game on Tuesday.