WICHITA FALLS, Texas – With seven seconds remaining, ENMU men's basketball found themselves down by three points and a shot to tie the ball game.

Junior guard Greg Johnson pulled up from behind the arc with three seconds on the clock and his attempt graced the rim. Midwestern State ended up pulling off the 56-53 victory Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

Eastern started the game with the first basket as Johnson connected on a three-point shot in the team's first possession of the contest. The early success did not faze the Mustangs as they pushed ahead with the help of three different runs of 5-0 or more over the course of the opening 20 minutes to take a 32-24 lead into intermission.

The second half proved to be a motivator for ENMU as they scored the period's first four points to pull within four and forced MSU to miss their first 12 shots from the floor as they settled for six free-throw makes over the opening eight minutes.

With 9:43 remaining, the Greyhounds took their first lead (41-40) since the opening minutes of the contest as they closed a 6-0 run and followed it up with a 7-0 scoring spree after the Mustangs connected on a single free-throw to hold a 48-41 advantage with 7:15 on the clock.

Redshirt-freshman Junior Hodnett hit the final two shots in that run. The first bucket was a corner three and the latter came ten inches in front of where he took the previous shot.

"Junior Hodnett stepped up to the plate and knocked down tough shots," said head coach Brent Owen on the crucial play. "He does all the right things, he is an "all in" guy, and he never complains. He is always ready when you call upon him."

The Rio Rancho, N.M. native finished the evening with a career-high ten points off the bench and added a pair of rebounds.

MSU answered with a dominate 12-0 run over the following five minutes, which included five points scored by Derrick Ogechi.

ENMU got within two points (53-51) after a free-throw from Errol White, but that was as close as the game got over the final moments of the battle between two tough Lone Star Conference foes.

"I told them after the game that this was one of the most physical games I've been apart of. I am proud with how they responded to the physicality and proud of their effort," said Owen. "Down the stretch it came down to our lack of execution and a few turnovers."

The program will look ahead to a Thursday night battle at Lubbock Christian for a 6:30 MT tip at the Rip Griffin Center. The Chaps are 9-5 (5-3 LSC) coming off a loss earlier today to Angelo State.