COLUMBUS, Miss. - Fifth-year senior Dariun Doss calmly canned three-consecutive free throws with two-tenths of a second left to play to provide the margin of victory, as The W men's basketball overtook Blackburn College, 64-62, in a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) game at Pohl Gym. The Owls (7-7, 4-3 SLIAC) climbed back to the .500 level with their third-straight "W" and remained in the thick of the SLIAC post-season race by virtue of the win over the Beavers (2-12, 1-6 SLIAC).
 
It was a game that MUW looked like it was going to win, then appeared it was going to lose, before pulling out the last fraction-of-a-second win.
 
The W led for 39:32 minutes of the game, the vast majority of that time with leads ranging from two possessions to double digits. But it was the final eight seconds that defined the night.
 
It was at that juncture that the Beavers capped a 19-8 run over the previous five minutes that saw the guests go from 10 points down to up by one, 62-61. It was BC's first lead of the night. A hard foul by Blackburn sent Cam Smith to the line, only to see the Owls' senior miss both tries with 3.4 seconds on th clock.
 
That's when the craziness kicked into high gear. MUW's Chris Evans grabbed the rebound launched a prayerful three-point shot that went in as the horn went off. However, the officials had blown a whistle with 1.2 seconds remaining when it was determined the game clock didn't start on time. That forced MUW to have to inbound the ball in front of its own bench, still down by a point.
 
Doss received the ball outside the arc on the far side of the court and turned to heave up a desperation three-point attempt. As Doss elevated, Blackburn's Landon Driscoll crashed into Doss, sending him to the floor, as well as to the free throw stripe for a trio of tries. Doss swished all three of the charity attempts that sealed the win for the Owls and sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
 
"The second half the game was pretty much a back-and-forth game, so I knew whoever wanted it more was going to come out with the win," an elated Doss explained. "On the last play, our first option wasn't open so I raised my hands for the ball. Once I caught the ball, I saw the opponent coming at me full speed; I knew he was going to foul because of his momentum. Once I got to the line, the only thing going through my head was to stay calm and poised.
 
"I had three shots and with my confidence I knew I could make at least two of them. Once I made the first one, my confidence went even higher, so I just stayed calm and knocked down the next two. All I can do is thank God, my teammates, and the coaching staff. Without any of them I wouldn't even be in the position to make a play like that. I'll remember this forever."
 
Doss' final stat line was 11 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and three assists.
 
Evans led MUW with 16 points on a 5-for-15 shooting night. He went 3-for-10 from three-point range, also making three steals.
 
James Dukes narrowly missed a double-double, scoring 13 points and also grabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Eric Bass Jr. booked 12 points and dished off a game-leading four assists.
 
The W will close out its four-game SLIAC homestand on Saturday (Jan. 18/3 p.m.) versus Eureka College at Pohl Gym.