The Jimmies dug a deep hole, nearly climbed out before Valley City State's star freshman nailed the dagger.

Down 19 points with 13 minutes to play, seventh-ranked Jamestown College came all the way back to force overtime. But lightning-quick freshman point guard A.J. McDonald buried a long three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Vikings a well-earned 86-83 win in a classic between the longtime rivals at raucous Jamestown Civic Center.

"It was a good college basketball game between two top 20 teams," JC coach Matt Murken said. "Both teams made a lot of good basketball plays, they just made one more than we did."

The Vikings (19-6) came into the game ranked 17th and certainly have the firepower of an elite NAIA team.

They built a 56-37 lead on one of the best defensive teams in the NAIA.

"We know how good of a team Jamestown College is, they're one of the best teams in the country," said VCSU coach Jeff Kaminsky. "When you play a team like that, you're never comfortable, no matter how big your lead is. Tonight was a perfect example of that."

B.J. Mertens proved his "Big Shot" nickname spot on with a clutch three-pointer that knotted the game at 72-all with 17 seconds to go. The Jimmies needed a defensive stop though to play on and got it from versatile 6-foot-3 defender Mark Hoge, who blocked McDonald's game-winning attempt in regulation.