La Porte, IN - Freshman Mario Herron's (Hammond, IN) no-look, desperation shot while going away from the basket caromed off of the backboard and through the net as time expired, breaking a 60-60 tie, capping a stellar comeback and a sensational 62-60 victory for the Panthers over the visiting Trojans of Trinity International University on Wednesday evening at the La Porte Civic Auditorium.

After holding the ball for the last shot, the Panthers' Kyle Sanders' (Knox, IN) 3-point attempt with 0:04 seconds left in the game missed the mark and was rebounded by the Trojans on the left-wing of the court. Herron came unnoticed from behind and poked the ball free. With his momentum carrying himself away from the basket while nearing the sidelines, Herron frantically launched the no-look shot towards the rim as the buzzer sounded.

The Trojans led the most of the first half, and were up by as many as eight points early on. Panther freshman Nick Lafty's (Hobart, IN) back-to-back 3-point baskets were part of a 12-0 Panther run midway through the first half, giving the Panthers their first lead at 20-18. A late Trojan 3-point field goal in the half gave the visitors a 37-35 lead at the break. 

The Trojans would use the beginning of the second half to continue building their lead back up. A 15-6 Trojan run to start the second half propelled them to a 52-41 lead with 13:48 left in the game. However, the Panthers countered with a 15-6 run of their own and tied the score at 56-56 with another Lafty 3-pointer with 6:56 remaining in the game. The Panthers' defense held the Trojans to only eight points over the game's final 13:48 of play. In addition, the Panthers' defense held the Trojans to just 28.6 percent shooting in the second half.

The Panther's were led in scoring by Lafty with 15 points, connecting on five of seven three point attempts. Sanders finished the game as the Panthers' leading rebounder with 11, dropped in eight points, picked up three assists, blocked two shots, and had a steal. Freshman forward David Kelly (Indianapolis) had 14 points on seven of 10 shooting from the field while also grabbing four rebounds. Herron ended the game with seven assists, six points, six rebounds, and two steals. Nick Neal contributed 11 points.

The Panthers' win was their second victory of the year over the Trojans, and brings the Panther's CCAC Conference record to 3-5, and overall record to 4-18. The Panthers will travel to Hammond, Indiana on Saturday, January 28 to take on CCAC Conference rival Purdue University-Calumet at 3:00pm CST.