CLINTON, N.Y. -- Noah Helmke and Grant Robinson had 10 points each Saturday, but Hamilton's Elliot Tirbaso tipped-in a rebound at the game's final buzzer to lift the Continentals to a 54-53 win over the Amherst College men's basketball team at the Scott Field House.

Amherst fell to 10-6 overall, 2-3 in conference play while the Continentals improved to 9-7 overall, 3-2 in the NESCAC. The Mammoths are back in action Sunday with a game against the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

* Amherst trailed 37-30 with just over 14 minutes left in the game, but constructed a 15-2 run over the next 6 minutes, 45 seconds to take a 45-39 lead. A string of three-pointers help the Mammoths do it. Helmke started things with a trey off the left wing with 12:11 to go. C.J. Mitchell followed a defensive stop with his own three-ball to make it a one-point deficit. Helmke followed with another three, from almost the exact same spot on the floor as his first, with 11:03 left to give Amherst a 41-39 lead.

* Up 45-39 with 7:05 to go following a Helmke lay-up off a nice Mitchell bounce pass in the paint, the Mammoths would go cold, scoring only a single free throw over the next six minutes. But strong defensive play kept them in the contest and they trailed only 50-46. Robinson drove the lane for a nice lay-in with 46.7 seconds to go. Following a successful Hamilton in-bounds, Garrett Day stole the ball, slapping over to Robinson. Robinson fed the ball back to Day, who stepped back toward the wing and nailed a three-pointer with 35.2 seconds to go for a 51-50 Amherst lead. 

* Two Hamilton free throws with 14 seconds left put the Mammoths down one, but Robinson countered by hitting two of his own from the line with only 6.2 seconds left in the game for a 53-52 Amherst lead. Hamilton in-bounded and called a timeout with 4.4 seconds remaining. Nick Osarenren got off a baseline jumper that bounced off the rim with 2.1 seconds to go. Hank Morgan's tip-in was wide of the mark, but Tirbaso one-armed the rebound off the glass and tipped it in as time expired. 

BY THE NUMBERS

* Hamilton's largest lead of the game was seven points and the Mammoths' six points. Amherst shot 32.8 (19 of 58) from the floor, Hamilton 35.7 (20 for 56). Rebounds favored Hamilton, 41-37. 

* Ryker Vance had nine points and a team-high six rebounds for the Mammoths. Helmke added five rebounds, two assists and a block to his 10-point effort. Connor Rood led Hamilton with 15 points.