Benedictine Mesa (AZ) delivered a thrilling finish Thursday night, erasing a double-digit second-half deficit and pulling off a dramatic 71-70 victory over Embry-Riddle.

The opening half was a showcase of intensity and momentum swings. Embry-Riddle jumped out early behind Peter Dress and Matur Dhal, but the Redhawks clawed back with key buckets from Damian Zivak and Kamron Robinson. After trailing by as many as seven, Benedictine Mesa closed the half strong thanks to Eric Blackwell, who hit a three-pointer and scored on a steal-and-layup at the buzzer to tie the game at 28-28.

Embry-Riddle came out firing after halftime, building a double-digit lead behind Dhal's dominance in the paint and Jacey Canalin's perimeter shooting. At 10:09, Canalin's second three-pointer of the half gave the Eagles a 52-43 advantage. The lead grew to 65-53 after Adam Mickulin and Christian Wells scored in quick succession.

But Benedictine Mesa refused to fold. Robinson and Blackwell chipped away at the margin with free throws, and Zivak buried a deep three at 3:30 to make it 67-62. Robinson added a layup to cut it to 67-64, setting up a tense final stretch.

Embry-Riddle still led 70-66 with under a minute to play, but the Redhawks mounted one last surge. Malik Payton slashed to the rim for a layup to make it 70-68. After a defensive stop, Blackwell split a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one. Then, with 19 seconds remaining, Isaiah Howard came up with the play of the game—stealing the ball and sinking two clutch free throws to give Benedictine Mesa its first lead since early in the second half, 71-70. Embry-Riddle had one last chance, but Gifft's jumper in the final second missed, and the Redhawks celebrated a stunning comeback victory.