Portales, N.M. – Down by five (76-71) with 12 seconds left, Eastern New Mexico men's basketball pulled off a miracle at Greyhound Arena Saturday afternoon against Lubbock Christian.
Błażej Czerniewicz took a deep contested three-point shot and banked in a three-pointer to get the game within two points.
On the ensuing throw-in, ENMU forced the Chaps to turnover the ball and got the ball with six seconds remaining.
The Greyhounds got the ball inside the paint with a drive by
Jahcoree Ealy and forced a pair of free throws.
Ealy shimmied his way to a successful first make from the charity stripe. The score sat at 76-75 as LCU called a timeout.
On the second attempt, Ealy went with his classic shimmy and his attempt hit two sides of the rim, found the hands of Czerniewicz, and the Polish freshman banked in a layup to seal the victory for Eastern New Mexico.
"I've never felt something like that and I feel great tonight," said Czerniewicz after hitting the improbable game-winning shot. "I didn't know that the ball was going to land exactly into my hands, but I am glad I was the right guy in the right place."
The first-year Greyhound scored five of his ten points in the final six seconds of the victory and ENMU needed each and every one of them.
Eastern trailed by as many as eight points (11-3), but a true team effort and 17-2 run reversed the script and gave ENMU the momentum for the rest of the first half as they led 34-27 at the break.
LCU let the Hounds increase the lead to a dozen early in the second period and then took the reins on the game after Rowan Mackenzie connected on two-straight three-pointers with seven minutes remaining to give the Chaps the 60-57 lead. Mackenzie leads the LSC in scoring this season.
Lubbock Christian held the lead for 7:51.6 seconds, but Czerniewicz's miracle shot sealed the deal for Eastern and moved them to 15-9 (10-8 LSC) on the year.
"I've been a part of several significant comebacks, but down five points with 12.5 seconds is the most improbable comeback in my 14 years of coaching," said head coach
Brent Owen after the game. "I'm so happy for our guys! We desperately needed to win a close game. I believe this will help us dramatically as we work to close out our regular season on a strong note and prepare for postseason play."
Off the bench,
Grehlon Easter scored a season-high 19 points, including 2-for-5 from behind the arc.
Dwayne Chester III contributed a team-high five assists and added a steal despite not being in the starting lineup.
Errol White scored 12 points and added seven rebounds. His teammate
Jahcoree Ealy scored ten points and secured four rebounds.
The Greyhounds hit the road with a trip to Oklahoma Christian Thursday night. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m. MT and will be streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.