OTTAWA — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats have punched their ticket to the post-season courtesy of a gutsy 39-36 overtime win over the Ottawa Redblacks on a rainy Friday night.

Brett Maher kicked a 38-yard field in the second extra session to give Hamilton the win, which came after they stormed back from a 27-12 halftime deficit.

With the win the Ticats improve to 7-9 and, in addition to locking down a post-season berth, are still in the running for the East Division title. They'll need at least one win in their final two games and some help to get past the now 7-8-1 Redblacks.

Hamilton finishes the season with home dates against Edmonton and Montreal while Ottawa plays a pair against the Bombers.

The Ticats made some plays and got some bounces — finally — in the first half, but made some critical mistakes and couldn't take advantage of a couple of golden opportunities. Quarterback Jeremiah Masoli threw a pair of interceptions — both inside Ottawa territory.

But it was the Hamilton defence — once again fielding a newly-constructed secondary — that was largely responsible for the 27-12 halftime score.

Ottawa quarterback Henry Burris threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns as the Redblacks scored on five of their six drives of the opening half.

Masoli put together a nice drive to open the third, a chunk coming on a 39-yard toss to Kevin Elliott. Short-yardage quarterback Jeff Mathews capped it with a one-yard touchdown plunge, though the two-point conversion fell incomplete.

Once again, Ottawa looked set to respond as Burris rolled the offence to the edge of the Hamilton end zone — only to fumble as he went to punch it in. The former Ticat pivot tossed an interception on the next Redblacks' drive as well, but Brett Maher — who also missed a convert in the first half — was wide right.

The Redblacks punted for the first time on the final play of the third quarter and the Ticats scored again, Masoli connecting with John Chiles from for the major. Hamilton, now down two, kicked a one-point convert and trailed 27-26.

This time, Ottawa did have an answer as Burris found Ernest Jackson for the second time on the night. The Redblacks missed their convert and the lead was seven.

Back came the Ticats. Masoli put together yet another nice drive and C.J. Gable bullied his way into the end zone after catching a short pass. Maher banged the convert through to tie it.

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The defence forced their first two-and-out and Hamilton took over in Ottawa territory, but the offence went nowhere and head coach Kent Austin elected against trying a 50-yard field goal. The Redblacks moved to midfield, but no further and punted, forcing OT.

The Ticats had the ball first in the extra session and converted a short field goal, while Ottawa's Chris Milo was forced to make a nervy 45-yarder to extend the game. The Hamilton defence then stripped Burris on the second play, setting up Maher's heroics.