YORK, Neb. – The York University men's basketball team recorded a thrilling 56-52 win over Sterling Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers are now 5-11 on the year, including 3-7 in KCAC action.

Head coach Mitch McMullen's team was guided by Logan Beckstrom's 21-point effort. Jadin Johnson added nine points and four rebounds while Shaun Armstrong contributed nine points and five rebounds. Eben Effah had five points to go along with nine boards. Dave Dalge contributed four points while Eli Jones had two. Eli Nutting posted six points and six rebounds.

Down 8-5, Armstrong canned a jumper. A lay-up by Nutting gave York a 9-8 lead. Trailing 11-9, Armstrong and Johnson made buckets for a two-point edge. The tightly-contested first half saw the visitors take a 16-13 lead, but Johnson made it a one-point game at the 6:12 mark. Effah tied it at 17-17 before Beckstrom's free throw pushed the Panthers to an 18-17 advantage. A three-ball by Beckstrom gave York a 21-19 lead at the break.

The back-and-forth second half saw the Panthers go on a 10-0 spurt for a. 36-26 lead. During the run, Beckstrom had a jumper and two three-balls. Nutting made a pair of free throws.

Leading 44-40, Johnson took a pass from Armstrong and nailed a deep shot for a seven-point margin with 8:03 to play. Sterling tied it at 52-52 before Beckstrom hit two charity tosses at the 1:04 mark.

The Panthers missed a rebound, but Nutting corralled the board. With five seconds left, Nutting was fouled. He hit both free throws and a strong defensive stand by York forced a miss at the buzzer, sealing the win.

For the game, York hit 20-of-59 from the floor, including seven-of-30 from downtown. The team canned nine-of-14 from the charity stripe. The Panthers pulled down 38 rebounds, had 11 steals and dished out seven assists. York scored 20 points in the paint and recorded 15 points off turnovers.

The Panthers return to action Wednesday when they travel to Saint Mary at 8 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at Yorkpanthers.com.