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Northwood's Ed Dyson missed most of the first half of Friday night's boys basketball game with foul trouble, then struggled to find a rhythm after halftime.

And then, as his Gladiators team bore down to make one final defensive stand, he took a risk and failed, freeing up host Blair's Cameron Reed for a go-ahead leaning jumper.

But Dyson knew he had 10 seconds to redeem himself. And after collecting the inbounds pass, the junior drove right and muscled up a 10-footer that rattled around the rim and down, giving the Gladiators a 41-40 victory and sending a large set of visiting fans into delirium.

"I was just speechless," said Dyson, who was mobbed by Northwood students after the shot. They were sent back into the bleachers, as 0.9 seconds were left for Blair's Dennis Mesidor to miss a desperation heave. "I was praying to God I'd get that shot off. I can't believe it myself."

Daniel Greenfield led Northwood (5-8) with 11 points, and while the usually prolific Dyson managed only 10, the Gladiators won their first back-to-back games of the season despite yielding an 11-point third-quarter lead.

"I was wondering why we couldn't stop them in the fourth quarter like we did in the second quarter," said Northwood's Daniel Shaffer, who finished with seven points and nine rebounds against the University Boulevard rivals. "But I think we're going to be alright."

For Blair (1-12), Trey Moses scored all 13 of his points after halftime, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Those came in a stretch where he scored all but one of his team's points, including a 3-pointer that closed it to 35-34, a 19-footer from just inside the arc that tied it at 37, and a foul shot after that to make it 38-37.

Greenfield answered with a pair of foul shots with 30 seconds to play. Cooper Neimand missed an open layup for Blair, but the rebound touched off a Northwood player and fell out of bounds.

After a Blair timeout, Dyson tried to swipe the inbounds pass and failed, and Reed streaked down the lane and hit a fantastic shot off the glass for the last of his 12 points. But it wasn't quite enough.

"The game wasn't lost by anything we did in the last 16 minutes," said Blair coach Mark DeStefano. "We put ourselves in position to win the game, but great players make great plays. And Dyson made a great play."