CONWAY, Ark. - The Hendrix College men's basketball team had to dig themselves out of a deep first half hole, but battled all the way back to earn a 54-52 win over Austin College on a Luke Vance layup with 3.2 seconds remaining. 

With 20 seconds left, head coach Thad McCracken took a timeout and drew up a creative set. Hank Aldous drove from the right wing, drawing the attention of the Austin College defenders, and found Vance on the backside block for an easy layup to put the home team ahead for good.

Aldous finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks and a steal to lead the Warriors while Vance chipped in with his second double-double of the season, dropping 11 points and snagging 12 boards. The Orange and Black battled back from an 11-point halftime deficit to earn their fourth win of the season.

The roos came out of the gates with a fire in their bellies, jumping out to an early lead behind guard combo Brian Baehl and Andres Rivera. The pair combined for 20 first half points on 7-of-11 shooting, including Rivera's 3-for-3 first half effort from beyond the arc. The Roos outscored the Warriors in points off turnovers 18-1 in the first half, but Hendrix battled through the adversity, battling for offensive rebounds and second-chance points. The Warriors entered the locker room at halftime trailing 34-23.

In the second half, it appeared a different team was wearing the Orange and Black as the Warriors came out of halftime on an 18-4 run to take the lead with 11:58 remaining in the game. During the eight minute stretch after halftime, the squad went 4-for-7 from behind the arc to gain the lead. Drew Nikolovski, Aldous, Alec Conard, and Aaron Steele each drained a long-distance basket to propel the home team into the lead.

Austin Freet kept the Roos alive with back-to-back threes, giving the team a 46-41 lead with 10:07 left, but the Warriors battled back yet again. Aldous took over the Hendrix offense, scoring nine of the Warriors' next 11 points to put the home team ahead 52-49.

With 37 seconds left, Austin College needed a three to tie the game. The squad turned to an unlikely source of offense. The team moved the ball around on the offensive end before finding Ryan Reibly open on the perimeter. The guard drilled the long-distance field goal, tying the game at 52-52 with 23 seconds remaining. Before drilling the game-tying three, Reibly had gone 0-for-5 from the floor during the course of the game, but hit the shot when it mattered. 

On the next Hendrix possession, Aldous found Vance for the game-winner. The basket came with 3.2 seconds remaining, allowing the Roos one more possession, but the team came up empty on a desperation heave, giving the Warriors the win.  

Hendrix heads into the holiday break with a 4-4 record on the year. The squad will return to action on Dec. 31 when they host East Texas Baptist University at 4 p.m.