SASKATOON — Don Dayrit's 34 points helped the University of Winnipeg Wesmen defeat the Saskatchewan Huskies men's basketball team 90-85 in an overtime thriller on Ron & Jane Centre Court at the PAC.

The third-year guard was the difference-maker for the visitors, as he connected on 14 of his 29 attempts from the field, including a three-pointer with 1:02 remaining in overtime, which gave Winnipeg a six-point lead with lead — a deficit that proved insurmountable for Saskatchewan.

"I'm certainly not disappointed with the effort, but disappointed with the outcome," said Huskies head coach Barry Rawlyk. "We had some breakdowns at times that really, really hurt us. The fact of the matter is they executed better than we did. They hit some shots when they needed to and we had some untimely turnovers and at the end of the day, they played better than we did. We got what we deserved." 

"This is a game of shot-making and they just need more shots over the course of the night." 

The Huskies were able to force overtime however, as after trailing by three in the final two minutes, they clawed their back into the contest. 

The win moves Winnipeg above the .500 mark, as they improved to 8-7 with just one regular-season game remaining. The Wesmen also received an 11-point effort from Shawn Maranan, the only other visitor to tally double digits on the night.

Marquavian Stephens had 27 points and Alexander Dewar had 23 points for the Huskies in the losing effort.

While the Huskies fell to 10-5 with the loss, Barry Rawlyk was pleased to get back on home court with fans in the stands for the first-time since Dec. 4 and play in an energetic, postseason-like game.

"The fan support was really, really good tonight. I appreciate everybody's getting behind the team and we just couldn't quite carry us over the finish line tonight," said Rawlyk. "It was a very playoff-like atmosphere. I think that a good thing that we can get those under our belt going into the playoffs."

The Huskies and Wesmen will do battle once again tomorrow night at the PAC, as the Huskies look for the series split. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the PAC. 

"I think we have to bring back the same level of effort again tomorrow, but our execution just needs to be a little bit sharper," said Rawlyk.