Box Score By Kevin Farr
Murray State Sports Information
Clutch shot after clutch shot rallied Murray State from a 17-point deficit but with the final possession it was Northeastern Oklahoma A&M that came up with a buzzer-beating putback dunk for a dramatic 83-81 conference decision Thursday night inside Beames Fieldhouse.

The Aggies canned eight second half three pointers in the rally, including a monster go-ahead four-point play from Isaiah Lewis with just 67 seconds remaining. That was the freshman standout's fifth trey of the second half.

Conference co-leading NEO was up to the task with the final possession, breaking the deadlock when sophomore center Javarzia Belton powered through the game winner.

That late bucket overshadowed a brilliant second half performance by Murray State as the hosts battled tooth and nail to erase a 44-34 halftime lead by the Norsemen, who improved to 24-3 overall and 13-1 in league play. The Aggies drop to 14-14 overall and 9-5 in conference.

NEO's size inside and pressure defense gave Murray State problems in the first 20 minutes but the Aggies clawed back from the big deficit spurred by Stanley Harley's 11 opening half points to close the gap before the break.

It was Lewis' time to shine after intermission as he sank three pointers that closed to within five, four and eventually three points with 1:40 left.

Following a Norseman miss, Lewis was fouled on a fall away 23-footer to ignite the Murray State crowd. NEO answered with a bucket and Treyvaughn Williams' free throw with 7.9 seconds to play knotted it again to set the for the closing sequence.

Lewis' 20 second half points gave him a team-high 25 for the game while Stanley Harley also had a big night with 19. Williams finished with eight, R.J. Chatman and Emery Eberhard had seven apiece with Ignas Juskevicius and Dayvantia Campbell pitching in four each.

Murray State travels to Eastern Oklahoma College for its next action on Monday night with the home finale next Thursday against Western, which is currently tied with the Aggies for third in the conference standings.