ROME, Ga.-The nation's leading scorer, Phil Taylor, hit a contested three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to lift host Shorter to a 76-75 win over the Christian Brothers University Bucs Thursday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The Hawks (11-7, 5-7 GSC) took their largest lead of the game just over two minutes in as Amonte Potter capped an 8-0 burst with a three-pointer.
• The Bucs (11-8, 8-5) used an 8-0 run of their own to take their first lead on back-to-back three-pointers by Adam Dieball (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) and Brad Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder HS) with 9:35 remaining in the half. 
• A 7-0 run extended CBU's lead to 28-22 on a Joe Laravie (Kettering, Ohio/Alter HS) triple with 6:08 remaining in the first half.
• The Bucs extended their lead to eight points three different times, finally on a Jeff Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) three-point play with 14:16 remaining, but the Hawks used a 12-5 burst to pull within 55-54 on an Eric Ross layup with 9:41 to play.
• The Bucs' lead held until the 1:16 remaining in the game, when Taylor capped an 8-2 burst with a pull-up jumper to give Shorter a 71-69 lead, its first since the 7:59 mark of the first half.
• The Bucs found an answer. After a missed jumper, Alex Trentman (Alexandria, Ky./Bishop Brossart HS) hauled down a rebound in traffic and the Bucs swung the ball around the perimeter to Larkin, who buried a left-wing triple to put the Bucs back ahead 72-71.
• Taylor drew a foul as he drove to the baseline and sank two free throws with 36 seconds remaining, but Dieball buried a top of the key three-pointer with 17.9 seconds remaining to give the Bucs a 75-73 edge.
• After a timeout, Taylor dribbled to the left wing and fired a three-pointer in traffic, swishing it to give him a game-high 38 points, three over his season average of 34.9. He also grabbed 10 rebounds with six assists and four steals.
• CBU's desperation three-pointer at the buzzer missed, giving Shorter the victory.

KEY STATS:
• Dieball led the Bucs with 22 points and six assists.
• Larkin scored 18 with six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Trentman tacked on 12 with eight rebounds and two assists.
• Laravie added 11.
• The Bucs shot 44.3 percent (27-of-61), including 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from three-point range. Shorter finished 46.4 percent (26-of-56) overall, including 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from beyond the arc.
• The Hawks out-rebounded CBU 37-30, including a 9-8 edge in offensive boards. CBU committed eight turnovers while forcing 10.

WHAT'S NEXT:
The Bucs return to action Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. as they visit Lee. Their next home game is Thursday night at 7 p.m. when they host West Georgia.