RICHMOND, Ind. — The buzzer had sounded and the three officials huddled as everyone waited for a decision.

And the ruling? Joe Adams would have two free throw attempts with 0.6 seconds on the clock to give the Earlham College men's basketball team their first win of the season on Saturday.

Adams converted both shots with a timeout in between the attempts to give the Quakers an 84-83 victory over Franklin College on Schuckman Court in the Athletics and Wellness Center.

"I had missed three free throws earlier in the game and I knew this was the time to redeem myself," Adams said. "Even though I had missed, I felt confident that I was going to make those last two to win the game."

"In my five years at Earlham, this is the best win that I have ever been apart of," Adams continued. "It was a real team effort."

Taylen Alexander led the Quakers with 23 points in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference affair against the Grizzlies (5-18, 4-12).

Adams had 16 points as he led the Quakers with eight rebounds. The last rebound became critical as he grabbed a missed layup by Lajay Kelly and was fouled trying to shoot just before the red lights on the backboard came to life.

Kelly finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while Kyle Smith tossed in 11 points.

DeAndre Lynch contributed eight points as Kamari Hunter finished with six points and a team-high six assists.

"I'm real happy for our guys," Earlham Head Coach Jason Polykoff said. "They've worked hard all season and deserved it. I felt we grew up today. We overcame their runs and got defensive stops."

"While it was a total team win, it's hard not to feel great for Joe," Polykoff added. "As the only senior on the team, he came up huge when his team needed him."

The game tied for the 13th time in the first half when Smith hit a 3-pointer to make it 38-38 with 2:59 remaining. From that point, the Grizzlies finished the period with a 9-6 run to hold a 47-44 advantage at halftime.

In the second half, Smith drilled another trey to tie it at 47-47 with 18:11 left to play. The Quakers followed with seven more points in a row capped by a basket by Hunter, which made it 54-47 at the 16:08 mark.

The Grizzlies answered and eventually took a 56-54 lead with 13:48 to go.

Franklin held on to the lead until Lynch hit a pair of free throws at 7:23 to put the Quakers on top 71-70.

The Grizzlies were able to gain a small lead until Alexander hit a basket and then added a free throw to give the Quakers an 80-79 lead with 2:08 left.

Moments later, the Grizzlies had the ball and a 83-82 lead. Kelly grabbed the rebound of a missed attempt by Franklin as the shot clock was about to expire with 15 seconds left in the game. 

The Quakers called timeout to set up the final play. Kelly drove the lane and nearly got the his shot to fall, but as it rolled off the rim, Adams was there to set the stage for the victory.

"I'm glad we could finally get coach Polykoff his first win," Adams said. "He's continued to work extremely hard and continued to believe in us though out this tough season."

The Quakers (1-22, 1-15) travel to Bluffton University on Wednesday. The final HCAC road contest of the season starts at 7:30 p.m.