Charlotte, N.C. -- University of Lynchburg's men's basketball team came up with big play after big play in the final minute to earn a 66-64 victory over The College of New Jersey Tuesday evening in the Bilas Classic at Queens University.

Landon Sutton scored the go-ahead layup with 45 seconds remaining and later sank a free throw to extend the lead, while Trey Pittman blocked three shots and grabbed two of his game-best 11 rebounds in the final minute of play to preserve the win.

Pittman logged his second double-double of the season with his 10 points and 11 boards, and Elijah Davis led the Hornets with 13 points. Sutton tallied six points and a career-high seven assists.

Lynchburg began the game with a 12-2 run sparked by Piercen Young's 3 and capped by a Pittman jumper. The Hornets grew their lead to as many as 14 points before the Lions got their feet under them to cut the advantage to 37-35 at halftime, closing the first half on an 11-0 run of their own.

TCNJ continued the run after the break, scoring the first seven points of the second before Pittman scored to help the Hornets back into the flow of the game. Davis then tied the game at 42 with a 3-pointer, and the teams battled closely for most of the second half.

Another TCNJ run, this time a clock-eating 10-3 barrage in the late going, put the Lions ahead by eight with just 2:36 to play and looked to decide the game. But Davis drained another 3 on a Sutton assist with 2:15 remaining, and Lynchburg had life. Out of a timeout, Sutton assisted another 3-pointer, this one by Alex Fitch, that cut the deficit to four, and Davis made a couple free throws to make it a one-possession game with 1:32 on the clock.

Fitch hit another 3 at the 1:20 mark to put Lynchburg back in front, but TCNJ countered with a go-ahead basket of its own before Sutton came up with the big play inside a minute to go. Pittman then blocked a pair of shots that would have put the Lions ahead, and Sutton snagged the rebound off the second block to get the Hornets the ball back. Lynchburg had trouble putting insurance free throws into the basket, however, and Pittman rejected the Lions' last-ditch effort just before the horn. He tossed the rebound to Sutton, who was fouled and made the first free throw before missing the second to run the clock out on Lynchburg's second-straight win.

The Hornets (4-6) will look to make it three straight victories Wednesday in the Bilas Classic finale at 6 p.m. against 2022 national runner-up Elmhurst.

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--LYN--