Oakland, Mich. 77, N. Dakota St. 74

1/31/2008 8:43 PM

ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP) -Erik Kangas' 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left gave Oakland a 77-74 Summit League victory over North Dakota State Thursday night.

After getting the ball from point guard Johnathan Jones, Oakland's top shooter got caught in traffic as time ran down, but managed to fire an off-balance shot that hit nothing but net.

Oakland (11-10, 6-4 Summit) has won two straight after a three-game losing streak. The Bison (11-10, 5-5) had won three in a row.

Jones led Oakland with 21 points, while Kangas scored 18 and Derick Nelson added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

North Dakota State's Mike Nelson paced all scorers with 25, while Brett Winkelman scored 15.

The Bison led 22-7 early, but Oakland was within 41-36 at the half.

The Golden Grizzlies took their first lead with 15:29 to play, going ahead 47-46 on Derick Nelson's layup.

The teams traded the lead until Derick Nelson's tip-in made it 68-68 with 2:50 left. Keith Benson gave Oakland the lead with two free throws, but Mike Nelson's jumper tied the game with less than two minutes left.

Kangas answered with two free throws for Oakland, but Ben Woodside hit two of his own to tie the game at 72.

The Bison failed again to get a stop, as Jones hit a short jumper with 58 seconds left to give the Golden Grizzlies a two-point advantage.

Josh Vaughn's put-back tied the game again, but Oakland had plenty of time to set up Kangas' game-winner.

The last-second win was Oakland's second over North Dakota State this season. The Golden Grizzles won 73-71 in Fargo on Jan. 5 when Tim Williams tipped in a rebound with two seconds left.