March 7, 2007

The fourth-ranked Northeastern Junior College men's basketball team survived an overtime scare in the semi-finals of the Region IX Tournament.

The Plainsmen trailed Northwest Wyoming by five points with just over three minutes to play in regulation. NJC fought back to force overtime, and the Plainsmen went on to take the game, 79-72, after one extra session.

Northwest Wyoming buried a 30-foot shot at the buzzer to tie the game and send it to overtime. But NJC's Omar Leary and Rashad Austin wouldn't let his team end the season.

Austin poured in a game-high 29 points to go along with his seven rebounds. The sophomore from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; hit 12-of-17 shots from the field.

Leary finished the game with 28 points, hitting 12-of-12 from the free-throw line. The sophomore from Portland was held without an assist for the first time all season. But Leary contributed three steals and two offensive rebounds to help advance his team to the championship.

The Plainsmen take on Casper in the championship game tonight at 7 p.m. in Scottsbluff.