ENNINGTON, Vt. - The meek may end up inheriting the Earth, but they won't win too many basketball games along the way. Especially in situations that call for the roundball equivalent of a higher power.

Southern Vermont College junior captain Joe Karnik made a divine three-point play under the hoop with 49 seconds left to help deliver the Mountaineer men a stunning 69-68 comeback victory over visiting Mitchell College on Tuesday night. SVC (4-5 overall, 1-1 conference) trailed by 10 points with five minutes left in the game, but shut the Mariners (4-6, 1-1) out completely over their final 10 offensive possessions to set up Karnik's gutsy heroics down low.

"It wasn't a pretty shot - I just threw it up, and the basketball gods answered," said Karnik, whose 21 points and 15 rebounds were both team highs. "It was a scramble for the ball and I felt a lot of body contact, so I knew I was going to get to the line. The free throw ended up being the hardest part."

Mitchell had one final chance to win the game, but Mountaineer forward Ben Naaktgeboren gambled and won on the ensuing entry pass - making a game-saving steal with five seconds left.

"I was lucky to make the right judgment and come up with the ball," said Naaktgeboren, who racked up 16 points, seven rebounds and a team-high five steals. "If I hadn't, (head coach Mike McDonough) would have probably thrown a chair at me."

"No, Ben made the right decision," McDonough said with a laugh. "He had a clear and legitimate shot at the ball."

The victory - the Mountaineers' fourth in their last five games - seemed very much in doubt heading into the final stretch. Mitchell's Jenel Russell had abused the SVC defense for a game-high 30 points and 15 rebounds, putting the Mariners ahead from the 15:34 mark of the first half all the way up to Karnik's and-one.

"It was an intense game, way more intense than I expected it to be," Russell said. "The next time we meet up it's going to be another battle, I can guarantee it."

Russell scored 18 of his points in the first half, after which the Mountaineers ratcheted up their help defense and forced the burly 6-foot-3 forward to settle for mid-range jump shots instead of gimmes underneath. A portion of the credit for that belongs to Hoosick Falls native John Chaffee, who made his debut with the Mountaineers and used his muscular 6-foot-5 frame to claim prime real estate in the paint.

"That's why John is here," McDonough said. "He was a presence."

The perpetually new-look Mountaineers were also without shooting guard sniper Brendan Kordana, which resulted in extensive action for usual reserves Chris Holland and Brett Clatworthy. SVC got double-digit scoring output from Jaret Falkowitz (12 points) and Cameron Herrington (11), the former of whom was named Rookie of the Week by the New England Collegiate Conference earlier in the day.

"We had a lot of guys stepping up," McDonough said. "We got good minutes from everybody."

While Karnik's clutch bucket may have been the highlight-reel play of the night, defense was essentially what fueled the comeback for SVC. The Mountaineers held Mitchell scoring force Eric Murray to only 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting, thanks largely to the high-energy pestering he was forced to endure by Naaktgeboren.

"(McDonough) put me on Murray, which is something I'm used to because I played against guards all through high school," said the Cambridge Central School grad. "I was quick enough to stay in front of him, and everybody else helped out all through the game. Our defense was definitely a total-team effort."

Which set the stage for the Mountaineers' last-minute offensive surge that put them over the top. The modest crowd (SVC is currently on break) gave a collective roar when the captain swished his go-ahead free throw, then stood and cheered again when Naaktgeboren made his lunging stop and dished to Falkowitz, who dribbled out the clock.

"You couldn't have drawn the ending up any more exciting than that," Karnik said. "I'm just glad it turned out the way it did, instead of the other way."

"Too often we end up with losses that we can learn from," McDonough said. "Well, this was a win we could learn from. We didn't necessarily play any better (than Mitchell), or shoot any better - but we played harder and we played tougher. That was the difference."

SVC will try to make it five wins in six games on Thursday, when the Mountaineers travel to St. Joseph for a 6 p.m. tip-off.