RICHMOND, Indiana – Senior Blake Bonin's three-point field goal from 10 feet inside the halfcourt line lifted Earlham College men's basketball to a 67-65 Senior Day win over Mount St. Joseph in a thrilling finish to a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday at Druley Performance Gym.

Bonin finished with a season-high 24 points on a 6-of-10 effort from the floor with five 3-pointers, to go with a 7-for-7 ledger from the free-throw line.

THE BASICS

Final Score:  Earlham 67, Mount St. Joseph 65
Location: Richmond, Indiana – Druley Performance Gym
Records: Earlham 9-14, 5-11 HCAC / Mount St. Joseph 6-17, 4-12 HCAC

HOW IT HAPPENED

Earlham jumped out to a 10-point lead, 12-2, early in the first half, on a layup and then a 3-pointer by senior Blake Bonin to open the game.

The Quakers still held a 10-point advantage, 22-12, as late as the 6:11 mark of the opening half, when the Lions began chipping away at the Earlham lead. A layup from MSJ's Peyton Meadows was quickly followed by a trey from Devin Young, trimming the Earlham lead to 22-17 with 5:04 showing on the clock. It remained a two-possession affair for most of the remainder of the first half, and the Quakers held a 26-22 lead at the halftime intermission.

Mount St. Joseph's took the lead in the second half on Brady Thomas' 3-pointer at the 11:28 mark of the second half, and extended the advantage to as much as eight points, 59-51, and Meadows' layup with 4:09 to play.

Back-to-back threes from Blake Bonin tied the game at 61-61 with 1:55 remaining, but Avery Paddock put the Lions back in front with a layup at the other end of the court. Twice the Quakers cut the margin to one point, the first time on John Sakaleros' foul shot with 34 seconds showing on the clock and then again on AJ White's layup with 11 seconds to play.

Bonin fouled MSJ's Thomas to put the sophomore on the line, where he missed both free throws with 7.2 seconds remaining. Sakaleros grabbed the rebound and passed the ball off to Bonin on the wing, who brought the ball up the court.

Anticipating a drive to the basket for a bucket or to draw a foul, the Lions' retreated and left Bonin open for the game-winning 3-point attempt.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

AJ White finished with 12 points while Jamel Barnes Jr. added 11 points to join Bonin in double figures. Barnes also handed out a season-best four assists.

Tariq Eldosougi grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds to go with four points and two steals.

Earlham shot 42.9 percent (21-of-49) from the floor but was outshot by a Mount St. Joseph squad that went 26-of-56 (.464) from the field. The Quakers connected on eight 3-point field goals and were an impressive 17-for-19 at the line.

Mount St. Joseph had three players in double digits, led by Devin Young with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting.

WHAT'S NEXT

Earlham men's basketball closes out its 2019-20 home slate on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when it hosts Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.