MADISON, S.D. -- Brayden Koch hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining, leading the Montana Tech men's basketball team to a 68-66 win over host Dakota State Friday evening. 

Karson Peffer scored a game-best 19 points for the 15th-ranked Orediggers (15-3, 9-3 Frontier Conference), and Koch's 16 points and Camdyn LaRance's 11 points helped pave the way for Montana Tech. 

The Orediggers trailed for the majority of the game. The first half began as a dogfight, with neither team leading by more than a possession for the opening 15 minutes. DSU (13-4, 8-4) held the lead for the final 11:45 of the first half. The Trojans led 35-31 at halftime. 

Tech surged to tie the game at 41 on a Peffer layup with 15:34 to go, but the Orediggers weren't able to take the lead until a Koch layup when the clock read 5:47. That bucket gave Montana Tech a 56-55 advantage, but it was short-lived. Dakota State's Lukas Morgan put the Trojans ahead at the 4:31 mark. 

Koch's 3-pointer finally put the Orediggers ahead for good at the 5-second mark, and a Hayden Diekhans free throw with 2 seconds to go added an insurance point. The senior then blocked the would-be game-winning 3-pointer as time expired. 

The win was Montana Tech's seventh in a row. The Orediggers will look to make that tally eight straight Saturday at 6 p.m. Mountain, 7 Central, at Bellevue. 

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