Richmond, Ind. - Earlham College's Chris Holmes made a layup just before the final buzzer to defeat the Franklin College men's basketball team 61-59 on Saturday in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play.

Franklin (10-13, 7-9 HCAC) used an 11-0 run to take a 55-51 lead with 2:53 remaining. The Grizzlies trailed 51-44 after a pair of free throws by Phillip Boone at the 5:44 mark.

Earlham (5-18, 4-12 HCAC) regained the lead 57-55 behind two free throws from Jack O'Flaherty with 1:29 left. Franklin sophomore Trae Washington (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) answered with two free throws on the next possession to tie the game. Free throws gave Earlham a 59-57 lead before senior Bailey Howard (Nashville, Ind./Brown County) drained two free throws with 28 seconds left to square the game at 59-59.

Following an Earlham timeout, Holmes made the game-winning layup on the game's final possession.

Franklin rallied from a 12-3 first-half deficit to take a 23-19 lead at the break.

In the second half, senior J.T. Barton (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) scored a layup to give the visitors a 29-24 lead with 16:52 left. Holmes made a three-point field goal to give Earlham a 34-33 lead midway through the period. Holmes scored a game-high 27 points and had seven rebounds. O'Flaherty added 19 points in the win.

Franklin sophomore Dion Smith (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central), Howard and Washignton each scored 13 points. Senior Troy Porter (Frankfort, Ind./Frankfort) scored seven points.

Franklin returns to action on Wednesday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Senior Night from the Spurlock Center. Prior to the game four senior players and support staff will be recognized. Live statistics and video of the game will be available here. In-game updates will also be available on Twitter (@FCAthletics) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinCollegeAthletics).