FAIRMONT — Brookings boys basketball mentor Travis Engebretson went for the tie at the end of regulation before opting for the lead and eventual victory in overtime on Saturday.

Nick Schefers’ 12-foot baseline jumpshot with 9.3 seconds to go in the second half forced a 4-minute extra session before Jonah Dobbs’ sixth 3-pointer of the non-league clash with 18 ticks remaining in overtime proved enough to squeeze the visiting Bobcats from South Dakota by the Fairmont Cardinals, 68-67, at Cardinal Gym.

“We’ve had games where we’ve built a big lead and the other team has cut it under 10, but we’ve always managed to hold them off down the stretch for the win,” said Fairmont head coach Jared Thompson. “Today, we talked about getting just one more (defensive) stop and it never came as Brookings rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half.”

Trailing 51-33 with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, the Bobcats buried 5 of their 11 trifectas — including the final three 3s by the sharpshooting Dobbs — to inch within 60-59 with 24.2 seconds to go.

Zach Jorgensen, who produced a double-double performance of 12 points and 11 rebounds to complement four assists, hit the front end of a two-shot foul situation 2 seconds later for a two-point Cardinals’ lead only to see Schefers swoosh a tying 2-pointer off a Trent Broksieck drive-and-dish with less than 10 seconds to go in regulation.

Jorgensen’s solo charity toss gave Fairmont a 62-61 lead in the extended period before Schefers’ ensuing baseline jumper gave Brookings its first lead of the afternoon at 63-62.

Wyatt Frank made two free throws to reverse a one-point margin back to the Cardinals before Schefers converted a one-and-one situation to restore a one-point lead — 65-64 — for the Bobcats with 1:18 to go in overtime.

Enter Carter Bell, who drained a game-winning 3 with 11 seconds to go during Fairmont’s 50-48 comeback over New Ulm on Friday night.

“It looked for a moment like Carter would be the hero in back-to-back games for us,” said Thompson. “He did his part by making the clutch go-ahead 3 — we just didn’t get that one last stop we needed.”

Bell snapped the nets on a right-side 3 to swing a 67-65 lead to Fairmont with 47 seconds left in the overtime, but the Cardinals could not stop Dobbs’ from behind the bonus arc. Dobbs rotated from the top of the key to the right wing, made a jab step and hit nothing but net on a back-step 3 from the corner with 18 ticks showing on the scoreboard for a 68-67 lead.

Thompson used a timeout at the 10.5-second juncture to set up the potential game-winning play before Jorgensen drove, drew the foul and stepped to the free throw line with 2.2 seconds to go.

“Zach’s one of our best free throw shooters, but he just couldn’t get one of those to fall,” said Thompson. “That’s how this game goes sometimes. You won’t see that happen too often.”

Jorgensen’s first toss rolled around the inside of the rim and spun out before his second miss was rebounded by Frank, who couldn’t get the putback to drop during a frenzied low-post scrum.

The opening half, however, belonged to sharpshooting senior Jack Hested, who scorched the nylon nets for six 3-pointers — including five in the first half to pace Fairmont’s 16-point lead at intermission. Hested poured in 19 of his 22 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field, including a pair of 2-pointers, during the initial 18 minutes of hardwood action.

Ahead 23-16, Hested buried back-to-back left-side 3s off assists from Bell to trigger the Cardinals’ pivotal 11-0 run with 6 minutes remaining before halftime. Joey Flohrs added a trey before Hested hit a runner in the lane for an 18-point lead.

Hested then displayed his long-distance prowess one more time by snapping the nets on a buzzer-beating 25-footer to help Fairmont to a 41-25 margin heading into the lockerroom at the break.

Hested pulled down six rebounds to go with his 22-point effort, Frank generated 14 points, while Bell finished with nine points and four assists for the Cardinals.

Dobbs topped the Bobcats with 22 points to complement three assists and three steals, Schefers delivered an impressive double-double of 20 points and 11 boards, while Broksieck scored 14 points and doled out five assists.

Fairmont (7-6) travels to Blue Earth Area on Tuesday night, while Brookings (2-10) hits the road to Mitchell, S.D., Friday night.

Brookings 25-36-7–68

Fairmont 41-20-6–67

FAIRMONT (67)

Frank 5-11 4-7 14, Hested 8-16 0-0 22, Toomer 0-4 0-2 0, Jorgensen 5-10 2-9 12, Bell 3-9 0-0 9, Baarts 2-3 0-0 4, Flohrs 2-5 0-0 6, Betts 0-0 0-0 0, Buntjer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 6-18 67.

BROOKINGS (68)

Dobbs 8-16 0-0 22, Shepardson 3-5 0-3 7, Broksieck 5-16 1-1 14, Boeve 0-2 0-0 0, Schefers 8-16 3-4 20, Woodall 0-3 0-0 0, Longville 0-3 3-4 3, May 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 25-62 7-12 68.

3-pointers: Fairmont 11-28 (Hested 6-13, Bell 3-7, Flohrs 2-4, Toomer 0-3, Jorgensen 0-1); Brookings 11-32 (Dobbs 6-12, Broksieck 3-12, Shepardson 1-2, Schefers 1-3, Boeve 0-2, Woodall 0-1). Fouled out: Broksieck (BR). Rebounds: Brookings 41 (Schefers 11, Longville 7); Fairmont 33 (Jorgensen 11, Hested 6). Assists: Fairmont 16 (Bell and Jorgensen 4 each); Brookings 11 (Broksieck 5, Dobbs and Shepardson 3 each). Steals: Fairmont 3; Brookings 3.

Fairmont edged Brookings, 44-43, during C-squad action Saturday in Fairmont.

Sawyer Tordsen and Levi Pooley scored 10 points apiece to pace the Cardinals’ victory, while Owen Burmeister added nine points.