FREDERICK, Md. - Hood College's men's basketball had already won three games in the final five seconds this season, but this was the closest call yet as Cameron Cook's (Baltimore, Md. / Calvert Hall) put back jumper rattled around the rim before finding the bottom of the net as time expired in a 78-77 win over No. 17 Messiah in Commonwealth Conference action.

The victory gave the Blazers their fifth straight win and their tenth in their last 11 contests.

Of Hood's four victories in the final seconds, three have come from the senior wing. On Jan. 22, he sank a pair of free throws with 4.1 seconds left against Lebanon Valley and his buzzer beater against the Falcons was reminiscent of his put back against Geneva with 3.3 on the clock on New Year's Eve. 

Hood (13-4, 7-3) trailed by six, 77-71 with 1:30 remaining after a foul line jumper by Taylor Groff. Matt Galloway (Sterling, Va. / Potomac Falls) nailed his fifth 3-point field goal of the afternoon 24 seconds later when Chris Cook (Mechanicsburg, Va. / Lee-Davis) found him right in front of the Blazers' bench to make it a three-point game. 

After Messiah (14-2, 8-2) called timeout, a long inbounds pass by the Falcons was intercepted by Reggie Daniels (Abingdon, Md. / Patterson). Davon Hill (Clinton, Md. / Potomac School) drove to the basket and was fouled with 35 seconds left. The sophomore calmly sank both to trim the lead to 77-76. 

Hood kept its press on and Cameron Cook came up with a steal, and the Blazers ran the clock down to 9.7 seconds and called a timeout. The Falcons forced Hill to throw an inbounds pass to Chris Cook deep in the backcourt. The junior, who won last Saturday's contest with a 3-point shot at Widener with 1.7 seconds remaining, let a three go from the left wing with less than five seconds to play. His shot missed just short, but Cameron Cook hauled in the rebound, took a dribble toward the baseline and shot a fall away. The jumper found the rim, rolled around and in for the dramatic victory.

The Blazers shot 57 percent in the game, a new BB&T Arena record, connecting on 27-of-47 field goals. The team went 12-of-23 from beyond the arc, 52 percent. Five different players hit 3-point field goals in the contest for Hood. 

Galloway scored a team-high 19 points after hitting 7-of-11 from the field, including 5-of-8 on 3-point attempts. Chris Cook shot 5-of-9 overall and was 3-of-4 from long range. The junior dished out seven assists and came away with three steals. 

Cameron Cook, who moved into second place all-time at Hood in career points with 1,430, overcame foul trouble to finish with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 2-of-4 from behind the arc. His rebound before the game-winner tied him for the team-lead with five and he had two steals and a block. 

Daniels gave the Blazers four players in double figures with 10 points. He tied Cameron Cook for the team-high with five rebounds to go along with two steals and a pair of blocks.

The junior forward twice game Hood leads of six points late in the first half, but the Falcons chipped their deficit to just 37-34 at the half. 

With 17:24 to go in the second half, a lay up by Justin Bowens (Frederick, Md. / Tuscarora) put Hood ahead 42-36. Brad Bolen scored six of the next eight points for Messiah as the Falcons tied the score at 44-44 with 15:11 to go. A three and a layup by Galloway put Hood back on top by five, but Messiah took a 50-49 lead on a field goal by David Fernandez less than three minutes later. 

Hood again reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer by Cameron Cook, 52-50, but Fernandez and Bolen accounted for all the scoring in a 10-1 run that resulted in a 60-53 Messiah lead with 9:40 left in the game. 

A three by Chris Cook pulled the Blazers within one, 72-71, with 2:35 to play, but the Falcons scored the next five points before Hood's comeback.

Groff played all 40 minutes and had 20 points for Messiah on 9-of-16 shooting. Fernandez netted 17 points on 6-of-9 from the field and dished out four assists before leaving with an injury late in the second half. Brad Bolen hit 7-of-15 shots on his way to 16 points. Scott Bolen came off the bench for 14 points on 4-of-8 from the floor and had a game-high eight rebounds. 

Messiah shot 49 percent from the field and was 10-of-26 from 3-point range (39 percent). The Falcons were perfect on nine free throw attempts.

Hood pulled within one game of Messiah and Stevenson for first place in the Commonwealth standings and kept pace with Alvernia, whose 7-3 conference mark matches the Blazers.

Hood travels to Stevenson on Jan. 28 for an 8 p.m. tip off.