Wayne Gray proved there's life in Wimbledon yet with an injury-time equaliser to dent Preston's faint play-off hopes.
Gray scored twice - the second with less than a minute left of injury time - after George Koumantarakis looked to have sealed the points for Preston.
Gray's double were his first ever goals for the club, and proved to the meagre Milton Keynes crowd that while the Dons are down, they are not out.
But Craig Brown's Preston will need reminding their season is not over yet, after a lack-lustre performance against the bottom team in the league.
What should have been three easy points was turned into a hard slog after they went a goal down after six minutes.
Wimbledon, whose relegation was confirmed against Sunderland in midweek, began the better of the two sides and were deservedly ahead through Gray's strike.
But the home side's lead only lasted 18 minutes before Paul McKenna provided the equaliser, after he earlier had a shot well-saved by towering keeper Scott Bevan.
The leveller sparked Preston into life and they went ahead just before the break through Simon Lynch after Richard Cresswell tested Bevan with a powerful close-range shot.
Gray's goal - his first for the club - showed what he can do after the pressure of avoiding relegation is lifted after the 23-year-old had been guilty of some horrendous misses when the Dons were fighting against the drop.
And after 25 goalless appearances this season he almost doubled his tally just past the hour mark when his shot drew Jonathan Gould into a fingertip save.
Wimbledon battled to the end and had three corners in injury time, which resulted in even Bevan up in the opposition penalty area, before Gray's late, late leveller.