Hamilton College's Elliott Tirbaso '22 tipped in the game-winning basket as time expired and lifted the Continentals to a thrilling 54-53 NESCAC win over the Amherst College Mammoths at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Saturday afternoon.

The Continentals (9-7, 3-2) have won three straight, all of which were conference games played at home. Hamilton takes to the road for a non-conference contest at nationally ranked No. 19 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (14-1 overall) on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m.

Amherst (10-6, 2-3) had won 10 of the previous 11 meetings with the Continentals. The Mammoths shot 32.8 percent from the field, and received 30 points of their 53 points from the bench.

Grant Robinson had given Amherst a 53-52 edge on two free throws with 6.2 seconds left. Patrick Mogan '23 threw a two-handed overhead inbounds pass to Liam Regan '23 in the frontcourt. Regan outjumped a defender for the ball and fell to his knees but kept his dribble as the Continentals called a timeout with 4.4 seconds remaining.

Regan inbounded the ball in front of Hamilton's bench and found Nick Osarenren '22, who dribbled towards the baseline. Osarenren threw up a wild 15-footer that missed everything and Hank Morgan '25 was able to get his hand on the ball. Morgan's tip-in attempt hit the backboard and the left side of the rim where Tirbaso tipped it up again with three-tenths of a second left. The ball tapped off the backboard, gently rolled off the back of the rim and through the basket as the buzzer sounded.

Tirbaso finished with seven points. Conner Rood '23 scored 15 points, handed out three assists and blocked two shots. Osarenren chipped in 12 points and two blocks, and Mogan recorded his first career double-double for the Continentals with 11 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. Hamilton ended up with nine blocked shots as a team.

Robinson and Noah Helmke paced the Mammoths with 10 points apiece. Ryker Vance contributed nine points and a team-high six boards.

There were 18 lead changes in a tight game that featured tough, hard-nosed defense by both teams. On a number of occasions, shots were launched in desperation as the shot clock expired, and there were a handful of turnovers due to shot clock violations.

The largest lead for either team in the first half was four points by the Continentals at 6-2 a little more than four minutes in. Hamilton held a slim 27-26 advantage at the half.

The Continentals opened up a seven-point advantage early in the second half. Owen Kane '25 capped a 10-4 run with a layup as he screened for the ball handler Rood and then rolled down the middle of the lane for a 37-30 lead with 14:08 to go. Mogan put Hamilton back up by seven 43 seconds later when he grabbed a miss and put it back up and in for a 39-32 cushion.

Amherst proceeded to score the next 13 points and grabbed its largest lead of six points at 45-39 with 7:04 left. Another offensive board and putback by Mogan finally ended a Hamilton scoring drought that lasted almost seven minutes.

After a free throw by the Mammoths made it 46-42 with 5:07 remaining, the Continentals regained the lead with an 8-0 spurt. Rood scored five of those eight, including two free throws with 55 seconds to go that made it 50-46, and Mogan scored the other three.

Robinson scored on a layup and a steal and 3-pointer by Garrett Day put Amherst back in front at 51-50 with 36 seconds left. Tirbaso made two free throws with 14 ticks remaining and Hamilton went back up by a point. That set the stage for the final frantic seconds.