MEMPHIS, Tenn. - For the second straight day, in a win-or-go-home game, the Warriors took down a conference juggernaut in the final minute of play. After upending third seed Sewanee on Friday, the Hendrix College men's basketball team knocked off two-time defending champions Centre College to earn their first trip to the Southern Athletic Association Championship game with a 55-53 win.

Hank Aldous finished with 12 points while Gearen Little field added 10 off the bench for the Orange and Black. Luke Vance chipped in with nine points and nine rebounds as the Warriors beat the Colonels for the first time since 2013 to advance to their first-ever Division III conference tournament final.

Drew Nikolovski had gone 0-for-3 from the floor during the course of the game, going scoreless for over 59 minutes of play. With 54 seconds left, Nikolovski received the ball in the corner on a kick-out from the post and knocked down the biggest shot of his career. The junior canned the corner three right in front of the Warrior bench, lifting the Orange and Black to a 55-53 lead with just under a minute to play. His only made field goal of the game stood as the deciding basket. 

In the first half, Hendrix stood toe-to-toe with the defending conference champions, controlling the pace of play and holding onto a slim lead through most of the period. Aaron Steele drilled a pair of threes in the opening frame to help keep the Warriors ahead, but the Colonels finished the half on a 10-3 run to take a 30-27 lead into the locker room at the halftime break. 

In the second half, the Warriors found themselves in a 49-41 hole with 8:41 to play in the game. With their season hanging in the balance, the Orange and Black locked down on defense allowing Centre just four points through the remainder of the game. On the offensive end, Hendrix pounded the ball inside to Vance for a layup, followed by a hard take from Littlefield on the next possession. The big man knocked down a pair of clutch free throws to narrow the margin to just four points with 7:14 remaining.

After trading buckets with the Colonels, the Warriors trailed by four with just over five minutes to go. Gabe Gumm stepped into a three-pointer and drilled it from the top of the key with 4:57 left to cut the deficit to 51-50. Over the next four minutes, the Hendrix defense stepped up, allowing Centre just two points over their next five offensive posessions. With the Warriors trailing 53-52, the team called Nikolovski's number and he responded, sending the team into the lead.

Hendrix held strong for one more stop, forcing a tie-up with 0.6 seconds remaining. Centre attempted one more desperation heave, but their last hope rimmed out as the sixth-seeded Warriors earned the 55-53 upset.

Hendrix Notes
- The Warriors have never played in a conference tournament championship at the Division III level, despite earning two NCAA Tournament bids in 1994-95 and 1995-96.
- The Orange and Black shot 21-for-51 (41.2%) from the floor and 7-for-16 (43.8%) from behind the arc.
- Hendrix shot 6-for-7 (85.7%) from the free throw line, a season-best in free throw percentage.
- The team's 55 points marks the lowest scoring total in a win against a conference opponent since joining the SAA in 2012.
- As the sixth seed, Hendrix is the lowest seed to ever reach the SAA final.

Centre Notes
- The Colonels' loss to Hendrix marks the team's first defeat in SAA Postseason play.
- Matt Gump finished with 17 points for Centre while Blake Scinta earned a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Centre shot 20-for-52 (38.5%) from the floor and just 4-for-16 (25.0%) from three-point land. 

Up Next
Hendrix earns their fourth straight win to improve to 11-16 on the season. The squad will face either Rhodes or Birmingham-So. in the SAA Championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday.