MARIETTA, OHIO -- Gwynedd Mercy could not get a last second shot to fall as the Griffins were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament with a tough 78-77 loss to Oswego State Saturday night at the host site Marietta College.

Julian Hyden went for 27 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs, but the Griffins, who battled back to take a late lead saw a jumper from Brian Sortino to put the Lakers, out of the State University of New York Conference, up by one with seven seconds left. The inbound was quickly brought up by Aaron Morgan who drove the lane and kicked out a pass to Julian Hyden in the corner, but his three-point attempt hit the front of the rim and skipped over the cylinder as the buzzer sounded.

Oswego State began the game, by scoring the first five points but GMercyU kept at it as Cedric Elleby would score six of the team's first nine points. A mid-court steal and ensuing dunk from Brian Hennessey would tie things up at 13-13. But the Lakers answered with a 7-0 run capped by a three from Keith Tyson to force a Gwynedd time out with 13:44.

Hyden would score 11 points in the first 10 minutes of the stanza but Gwynedd could not stop the hot shooting from Oswego as both teams traded baskets. Kyle Covley connected on a jumper to give the Lakers their largest lead of the half, 43-32, with 4:20 before intermission. The Griffins would get it to six but Tyson would put back his own miss underneath the bucket before the horn sounded for a 49-41 edge at the half.

GMercyU would shoot 54% in the first stanza, but the Lakers connected at a 64% clip to lead by eight.

On their first possession of the second, Elleby wrestled down an offensive rebound and drew a foul on the putback. His and-one for the three-point play and later a feed inside to him cut the deficit to three (49-46).

Artis' jumper from the right key pulled GM within one at 54-53 and was part of a 16-9 run to open the half. Hennessey would tie it on a three with just over 15 minutes at 56-56.

On the next possession, Hyden was able to intercept a pass and find a sprinting Hennessey who was fouled on his way to the basket. He would hit the first of the two free throws to give the Griffins their first lead of the game.

But the Lakers, who hit 10 three-pointers on the night, would strike from downtown to take back the lead and kickstart a 13-2 run of their own over the next seven minutes. Demetrius Mitchell would put Oswego up by 10 (69-59) with his triple with 8:55 to go.

Like they did the night before, Gwynedd fought back and chipped away at the lead. Rip Engel would score the next five points on a big three and a driving layup to cut the deficit to five.

Hyden's reverse layup made it a 74-72 game with 3:07 left. Two Covley free throws put Oswego back up by four. Hyden would get fouled on a drive to the basket but he would make only one of two. Gwynedd then used a defensive stop and rebound that turned into Artis' short jumper for a 76-75 game with 1:18 to go.

After another stop, Hyden again drew a foul and would go to the line down one with 24.1 left, shooting a 1-and-1. He would hit both to give GMercyU the lead. Sortino would answer with his jumper in the top of the key, finding the bottom of the net for the final lead change of the game. In all there were six ties and four lead swaps.

Sortino was one of four players in double figures for Oswego, finishing with 17 points. Tyson led the Lakers (22-8) with 19 while Covley and Alex Rawa each had 12. The team cooled in the second, held to just 34% shooting to finish at 28-for-55 (50%) for the game.

Elleby would go for 21 points and seven boards while Hennessey added 11. Darnell Artis finished with seven assists and six points while Aaron Morgan contributed five points, four caroms, and two assists. The Griffins forced 14 turnovers which led to 17 points.

It would mark the final game of the team's four seniors: Hyden, Artis, Hennessey, and Morgan. With Morgan joining the team for his final season, the remaining three would post a 73-35 career record and a 57-15 conference mark. After falling in the CSAC Semifinal round the first three seasons, the group broke through and helped the team capture the conference title for the first time since 2009.