GREEN BAY, Wis. NIU’s dream season appeared to be ending in a nightmare Monday night against Northern Iowa in the Mid-Continent semifinals.

But Donald Whiteside, NIU’s gutsy 5-10 guard, saw to it that the dream remained alive.

His off-balance 3-pointer with no time left on the clock and the Huskies down 57-54 sent the game into overtime. NIU (25-4) took advantage of its second chance and blew out the Panthers (13-19) in the extra session to pull out a 76-63 victory.

The win puts NIU into the M-C Conference Championship game, Tuesday night at 6:30 against host Wisconsin-Green Bay, 63-54 winners over Eastern Illinois in the other semifinal match. UW-GB (23-6) dealt NIU two of its four losses this season.

The winner of the nationally televised (ESPN) match will earn an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.

For much of Monday’s game, it looked like it would be the Panthers and not the Huskies playing for the title. UNI led for most of the second half before Whiteside’s heroics.

“Somebody had set a pick for me,” Whiteside said. “I had lost track of the time … I had to shoot it when I felt it was time. (I) threw it as close to the basket as I could.”

“This is a special team,” a drained NIU head coach Jim Molinari said afterwards. “We work as hard as we can (and) left the outcome to God’s hands, so nothing surprises me.”

UNI head coach Eldon Miller, however, was surprised by NIU’s comeback.

“We’ve had a lot of miracles happen for us,” Miller said. “Most of them have gone for me, not against me.”

The Panther’s Troy Muilenberg had given UNI the three-point lead with two free throws and four seconds remaining. The Panthers were instructed to foul as the Huskies inbounded the ball, Miller said, forcing NIU into shooting two free throws without getting off a potentially tying shot. But Whiteside’s speed thwarted UNI’s strategy.

“He got downcourt so quick we didn’t have a chance to foul,” Muilenberg said. “It was a tough shot for him to make.”

UNI shot a sizzling 72 percent in the first half against the nation’s second-ranked defense, and despite an 18-8 lead NIU was down 36-33 at the half.

It took eight minutes for NIU to put a point on the Brown County Arena scoreboard in the second half. UNI, however, failed to capitalize on the Huskies’ cold spell and had increased its lead by only two points (38-33).

“One of the keys in the game,” Molinari said, “was when we didn’t score for eight minutes (and) our defense kept us in the game.”

NIU clawed its way back, largely due to the muscle of Thomas (27 points, eight boards) and shooting of Whiteside (23 points). Whiteside brought NIU to within 55-54 with five seconds left when UNI’s Muilenberg, looking to inbound the ball, threw a full-court bomb that sailed out of bounds, seemingly giving NIU the ball. But Thomas had tipped the ball and UNI retained possession. Muilenberg was fouled a second later and hit both free throws before Whiteside’s game-saver.

In overtime the Huskies took control early and hit 11 of 12 free throws in the extra session to pull away from the Panthers. A fatigued UNI, which had played an overtime game against Cleveland State Sunday, could only muster six points in OT. “Winners find ways to win,” Molinari said. “We’ve done that all year long.”

Tuesday night’s game will determine if NIU’s dream season will become a Championship season as well.