A 3-pointer by Teja Singh '25 with 32 seconds left gave Hamilton College the lead for good, and the Continentals hung on for a 50-47 win over the Union College Dutchmen in Union's 2021 Sig Makofski Invitational championship game at the Viniar Athletic Center on Sunday evening.

Hamilton evened its record at 3-3 after defeating the Dutchmen and Morrisville State College (71-48 on Saturday) at the tournament. Nick Osarenren '22 was selected the tournament's most valuable player and Singh made the all-tournament team.

Union, which is a member of the Liberty League, dropped to 2-2 on the season. The Dutchmen committed 18 turnovers but held the Continentals to their lowest point total since Jan. 20, 2018. Both teams struggled from the floor as Union shot 33.3 percent and Hamilton shot 31.1 percent.

The Continentals' size was a factor as they grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and finished with a 24-8 advantage in second-chance points. Hamilton finished with 26 points in the paint and the Dutchmen had 16.

Osarenren posted his third double-double this season with 19 points and 11 boards. He also had four of the Continentals' nine steals and blocked three shots. Singh dropped in 13 points and made two of Hamilton's three 3-pointers. Liam Regan '23 contributed three assists, three blocked shots and two steals.

Mike Manley drained four 3-pointers and paced Union with 17 points. Temi George added eight points and 11 rebounds, and Justin Regis registered seven points and four assists.

The Dutchmen had taken a 44-43 lead with 44 seconds remaining when Manley drilled a 3-pointer, was fouled and made the free throw for the rare four-point play. Eric Anderson '22 found Singh for the go-ahead trifecta 12 seconds later.

Brian Noone was fouled with 19 seconds to go and missed the front end of a one-and-one. Osarenren came down with the rebound and passed to Regan who was fouled with 16 seconds left. Regan couldn't make the front end of his one-and-one but the ball went out-of-bounds off Union.

The Dutchmen were forced to foul Elliott Tirbaso '22 on the inbounds with 14 seconds remaining and he made both free throws for a 48-44 edge. After a Union timeout, Manley made another 3-pointer and pulled the Dutchmen within a point at 48-47 with four seconds to go.

Tirbaso was fouled again on the ensuing inbounds play with three seconds left and once again he calmly stepped to the line and made both shots. A desperation 3-pointer by Manley was off the mark as the final buzzer sounded.

The Continentals came out firing and took a 10-2 lead about four minutes into the first half thanks to six points by Osarenren. Union roared back with 10 straight points and eventually grabbed its largest lead of six points at 22-16 with 5:08 remaining. The Dutchmen led 25-22 at the break as Hamilton went just 1-for-9 at the free-throw line during the first 20 minutes.

The Continentals didn't move back into the lead in the second half until a free throw by Singh made it 34-33 with 8:18 left. Singh's free throw was part of an 8-0 run that put Hamilton up 39-33 with 7:19 remaining. Union didn't score for eight minutes but was still only down by four points.

The Continentals led by six points three times in the second half, and that was the largest lead for either team during the final 20 minutes. A steal and layup by Osarenren gave Hamilton a 43-37 advantage with 1:58 to go.

The Continentals host winless Hartwick College for another non-conference contest on Thursday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m.