DENVER – As Keyshaad Dixon's game-tying free throw attempt trickled off the rim with just over 10 seconds to go, it seemed all hope was lost.
 
But don't despair, Mavrick was there.
 
With the strength of a superhero, MSU Denver junior wing Mavrick Gildyard muscled his way past a defender to secure the rebound, then took it up for the go-ahead basket with 10 seconds left.
 
And, after a wild defensive scramble in the closing seconds, the Roadrunners held on for a much-needed 71-70 victory Saturday night over Westminster.
 
"I knew we were down by one and that if they got the ball we would have to foul anyway," Gildyard said of his mindset prior to the missed free throw. "So I figured I might as well go hard after the rebound, and if I got a foul, I got a foul. So I went and just got the rebound."
 
It was a man's rebound and capped a night in which Gildyard, who we believe is a mere mortal, matched a season high of 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting. He also grabbed nine rebounds.
 
And while teammate Laolu Oke – stay tuned for more on him in a few paragraphs – had a second straight relatively modest night with nine rebounds (Oke is NCAA Division II's leader in offensive rebounds per game and was the de facto leader in overall rebounds per game), he may have helped Gildyard at the end.
 
"When you have the best rebounder in the country (Oke) across from you, then he (Oke) is going to get a lot of attention," MSU Denver coach Michael Bahl said. "So they singled him (Gildyard) up, and Mavrick is one of the best athletes we have. He just went and got it. Players make plays."
 
Westminster called timeout, then came out sprinting to the basket at full speed to try to win in the closing seconds.
 
Joey Andrews missed a contested layup, and then Brayden Johnson grabbed the offensive rebound. But his shot attempt was swatted by Oke (remember that dramatic foreshadowing a couple of paragraphs ago), and looked more like a volleyball kill than a basketball blocked shot.
 
"He got the rebound and I started panicking," Oke said. "Then he pump-faked, and I was trying not to foul him, but then he went up too slow and I just got it out of there."
 
Tyrei Randall grabbed the rebound with 1.7 seconds left and was fouled, and it didn't matter that he missed the ensuing free throw.
 
"It's out of your hands," Bahl said, laughing, when recalling the sequence that ended with Oke's blocked shot. "I think the basketball gods were on our side tonight. The ball bounced our way. And sometimes you have to have that happen to create a spark."
 
Trailing for more than 31 minutes of the game, and down by nine with 15:08 left, the Roadrunners got that spark from a number of ignitable sources. They scored on six straight possessions leading up to the inconsequential missed free throw by Randall.
 
"We were just having fun," Randall said. "Coach has told us, 'Don't let outside life affect what happens on the court. Just take care of your court business, and we'll be good.' He put us in the spots we needed to be in, and we executed."
 
Randall's corner 3-pointer – part of his career-high 20-point night that included 4 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc – tied the game 62-62 with 3:08 left and came one possession after Kobe Sanders had halved a six-point deficit with a 3 of his own. Prior to that 6-0 burst, MSU Denver had trailed since the 4:30 mark of the first half.
 
Westminster's Matt Kitzman hit a 3, but then then Dixon tied it right back up with a 3 at 2:15, making it 65-65. Westminster's Reme Torbert hit a 3, but Dixon made two free throws to cut MSU Denver's deficit to 68-67 with 1:36 left.
 
"It was exciting," Gildyard said. "I was hoping someone would knock down some shots, because we need some points. We were chasing them a little bit all game, so to make those shots was big time. Guys stepped up tonight."
 
Westminster's Isaiah Banks scored on a driving layup, but Randall answered with a pullup jumper in the lane to keep the Roadrunners within 70-69 with 52 seconds to go. Finally, a Westminster turnover gave the Roadrunners a chance to take the lead. Dixon missed a pair of free throws but Gildyard got his decisive rebound.
 
MSU Denver improved to 4-5 overall and is tied for fifth in the RMAC at 4-4. Westminster dropped to 5-3, both overall and in the RMAC.
 
"We needed win that big-time to get some positivity going," Gildyard said. "You get a little momentum like this and you can carry it over to the next game."