WINCHESTER, Va. - The Shenandoah University men's basketball team ended its losing streak in dramatic fashion today with a 79-78 overtime win of its ODAC contest with Hampden-Sydney.

Shenandoah (2-15, 1-7 ODAC) won for the first time since November 21 (a span of 14 games) with its second-ever victory over Hampden-Sydney (11-6, 4-4).

Trailing 33-26 at the break, the Hornets got back into it with a 9-2 run to start the second and then battled H-SC back and forth until coming out on top in the OT.

Senior Xavier Alston, who struggled to a 6 for 12 performance from the line, gave the victors the winning point by sinking the back end of a two-shot foul opportunity with 1.8 seconds remaining in OT.

Hampden-Sydney's Mike Murray, who already owns a buzzer-beating game-winning shot in Shingleton Gymnasium this season, then made a shot from just over halfcourt as the final horn sounded to provide the final margin.

SU led by as many as seven in the OT only to see H-SC put itself in position to force a second five-minute period by hitting a Mitch Owens 3-pointer and then seeing Murray convert a 3-point play in the final 19 seconds.

Sophomore Aaron Patterson, who had a career-high 29 points, gave the Hornets some breathing room by hitting a pair from the line at the eight-second mark.

Hampden-Sydney turned the ball over with 3.2 seconds to go and fouled Alston in the backcourt on the inbounds pass to set up the final sequence.

After missing the first shot off the front of the rim, Alston calmly swished the second to make the final 1.8 seconds academic.

Shenandoah also had the final possession of regulation, inbounding the ball with 6.2 seconds left to Patterson, who dribbled the length of the court and saw his 10-foot baseline jumper hit both the front and back of the rim as time expired.

SU never trailed in the OT, taking its final lead on a Malcolm Clark set of a free throws 16 seconds in and eventually pushing the advantage out to seven points by the 28-second mark.

Clark backed up Patterson's 29 points with 18 of his own while Alston had 14.

Murray led the visitors with 21 points.

Shenandoah owned a 35-27 advantage on the glass.

SU takes to the road this Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game at Eastern Mennonite.

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