AMHERST, Mass. - Antonio Bonilla (Tenafly, N.J.)  hit two three-pointers in the final minute, including the game-winner with five seconds left as the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team defeated Amherst College, 73-71 in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

Down 71-70 with 12.8 seconds remaining, the Falcons inbounded the ball in the backcourt to Tazhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.). Daniels dribbled to the right side by the Albertus bench. Daniels then handed the ball off to Bonilla who turned the corner and buried a three with a hand in his face three feet behind the three-point line.

It was Bonilla's second three in the final minute as he earlier put the Falcons up 70-69 with 33 seconds left on an assist from Malcolm Duncanson (West Haven, Conn.) before Amherst took a lead on a layup from Ryker Vance on the ensuing possession.

The win is the second straight for the Falcons who are now 7-1 on the season.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Albertus Magnus 73 | Amherst 71

RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (7-1) | Amherst (5-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Amherst jumped to an early 7-3 lead in the first half after a three from Chris Hammond just over three minutes in. 
• A 12-1 run led by six points from Duncanson put Albertus up 15-8 with 12:08 left.
• Hammond cut the Albertus lead to 17-15 on a layup, but four points from Jeyson Slade (Stamford, Conn.) fueled a 7-0 run to put the Falcons back up 24-15.
• The Eagles turned up the defense over the final 6:19 allowing just five points the rest of the half as the Eagles finished the first 20 minutes on a 15-5. Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) came off the bench and scored seven points in the final minutes of the half to give Albertus a 41-27 lead.
• In the second half, Hammond scored six points in the first five and a half minutes to make it a 47-41 game before Albertus extended the lead back up to nine at 52-43 after a layup from Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) at the 12:03 mark.
• Amherst followed on an 8-0 run, making it a 52-51 game, but the Falcons followed with baskets from Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Washington and a three from Bonilla to put Albertus up 60-54. Minutes later, Bonilla hit another three to give Albertus the 65-57 lead with 3:57 left.
• From there, Amherst went on a 12-2 run as Hammond and Marc Garraud each hit threes and would take the lead with 52 seconds left on two free throws from Vance. Bonilla's heroics followed to give the Falcons the win.

TEAM STATS

Albertus: 41.3 FG% | 62.5 FT% | 33.3 3PT%

Amherst: 45.5 FG% | 65.4 FT% | 36.4 3PT%

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS

Albertus

• Justice Washington 13 Points | 10 Rebounds
• Antonio Bonilla 12 Points | 4 Three-Pointers
• Jayquan Kirkland 9 Points | 3-6 FG
• Tazhon Daniels 8 Points | 3 Rebounds

Amherst

• Will Scherer 20 Points | 14 Rebounds
• Chris Hammond 20 Points | 5 Rebounds
• Ryker Vance 13 Points | 4 Rebounds

NOTEWORTHY

• There were four ties and six lead changes in the game.
• Kirkland's nine points were a career-high.
• It is the sixth game this season Bonilla has hit two or more threes in a game. His four three-pointers were also the second most this season.
• Washington has scored in double figures every game this season and now has five double-doubles on the season.
• It is the third one-possession game the Falcons have won this season.
• Albertus committed a season-low nine turnovers.
• It was just the second matchup between the two teams, as the series is tied, 1-1.
• The Falcons remain in first place in the GNAC.

UP NEXT

The Falcons will host Dean in their Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) home opener on Saturday, December 9 at 3 p.m.