Holding an eight-point lead with 1:02 to play, Northwestern and head coach Billy Hallman could almost taste his team's fifth Colonial League win of the season.

But Palisades had other plans for that final minute.

After trailing 51-43, the Pirates scored 10 of the next 12 points, including two three-pointers in the final 47 seconds. Both of those daggers came from Landon Mueller, including the second with 10.7 ticks remaining that sent the game into overtime at 53-53.

The Pirates (8-6 overall; 6-5 in Colonial League) doubled-up the Tigers (7-9 overall; 4-7 in Colonial League) in the extra frame en route to the 63-58 win at Palisades High School.

"I'm very happy with our guys' effort," Hallman said. "We played hard for 36 minutes and didn't give up. Things didn't go our way all of the time, but we battled and we were holding them off the whole game. They made a couple really clutch shots at the end of the game. That was the difference."

The Tigers, who jumped out to a 13-7 lead, never trailed in regulation. But it was the final four minutes of the fourth quarter that decided their fate.

After Taylor Breininger drove to the basket and kicked to an open Brady Mengel for a three-pointer, the Tigers jumped in front 49-41 with 4:44 to play. That was their largest lead of the game.

But Mueller responded for Palisades moments later with a step-back jumper that cut it to a six-point game. The Pirates were held scoreless for nearly the next three minutes, but Jason Gehman, who scored a game-high 22 points, cut Northwestern's lead back to six with 54 seconds to play. Mueller hit his first three-pointer seven seconds later, and he added the game-tying bucket the next trip down the floor.

"They're a good basketball team, and their size is tough to defend," Hallman said. "We played solid defense, but we were expecting it. It was a great game both ways."

Cam Richardson scored eight of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Tigers, but Palisades executed for the entire eight-minute stretch.

"We couldn't get much in the fourth quarter," Hallman said. "We kind of went on a little dry spell. And then in overtime, we couldn't buy a basket."

The Tigers' defense led the way early on, allowing the Pirates to a combined 8-for-29 shooting in the first half. But after that slow start, the home squad started to heat up by scoring 35 after halftime and hitting five of their first six field goal attempts of the fourth quarter.

"I was very pleased, really for the whole game," Hallman said. "We gave up two open threes, but overall for our defense, I was really pleased with it."

Mengel hit three three-pointers and finished with 13 points for Northwestern, while Josh Williamson added 11. Mueller scored 10 of his 12 in the second half for the Pirates, and Levi Wilkins finished with 10.

Heading into the game, the Tigers were in the hunt for a league playoff spot despite being two games below .500. Those postseason dreams are still alive, particularly with six teams now qualifying for the tournament, but the road ahead got that much harder.

Palisades and Wilson, who both entered Wednesday with 5-5 records in the Colonial League, earned victories and hold the last two spots with six games remaining.

The Tigers host Southern Lehigh on Thursday at 7 p.m.