While one senior helped spark the offense in a big second-half comeback, another hit the winning shot to send Eastern Oregon to the second round.

Bryan McGriff scored 25 of his 33 points in the second half, and Trell Washington hit the game-winning layup with one second to play as the fourth-seeded Mountaineers edged No. 5 Indiana University Southeast, 92-90, Thursday in the first round of the NAIA National Championships in Point Lookout, Missouri.

“We had a play set up to get Bryan the ball, but they were denying him the ball,” Washington said. “Time was running out. I knew I had to take a shot so that’s what I did — got to the basket and got the layup.”

The victory moves EOU (24-8 overall) into a second-round matchup today against No. 1 seed Bethel (30-4) at 3:45 p.m. Bethel, out of Indiana, opened with a 104-78 win over Calumet Thursday night.

On the winning play, Washington, who had 20 points, took an inbounds pass in the backcourt with 12 seconds to play. The senior worked his way to the right side of the floor, drove left into the lane and finished a left-handed layup for the victory.

EOU head coach Isaac Williams said the play was a nice improvisation on Washington’s part, pointing out that the ball was tipped into the backcourt.

“They had a deflection on the inbounds. Kentrell basically had to just go. To his credit, he made a heck of a play,” Williams said. “But that was not the design, which is why I say coaching is overrated. It was a good play for him.”

EOU mounted an impressive comeback for the win. The Mountaineers trailed by 19 points in the first half and were down 51-40 at the break due to a hot start by IUS. The Grenadiers opened the game 13-for-18 from the field and finished 59 percent for the half. EOU, conversely, shot 38 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but languished below 30 percent much of the half.

“We didn’t play well to start the game. I’m sure there was a bit of nerves and all that. We just had a hard time executing,” Williams said. “On the other hand, Indiana Southeast just executed and made shots.”

Washington scored to give EOU its first lead with just under 13 minutes to play, 64-62, moments after Travis Meeker tied the game with a 3-pointer.

“I think we showed some signs toward the end of the first half,” Williams said.

Eastern extended its second-half lead to as much as six points, but the Grenadiers came back to retake the lead, 87-85, on a Joe Ferree 3 with 4:02 left. The teams exchanged the lead twice in the closing moments, and Robert Sawyer missed a go-ahead shot for IUS with 16 seconds to play, setting the stage for Washington’s heroics.

The win is EOU’s first at the national tournament since 2011.

“It’s a big win for us and the program as well,” Washington said. “(We) never gave up on the game and kept fighting.”

McGriff, who had eight points at halftime, went off after the break, and more so in the closing minutes of the game. At one point, the senior scored 18 straight points for Eastern, starting with a 3-pointer that gave EOU its largest lead, 70-64, and ending with a pair of free throws for an 85-81 lead with 5:25 to play. McGriff, who was 10-for-16 from the floor and 6-for-9 from 3-point range, also grabbed 10 rebounds for his 16th double-double of the season.

Johnson and Sawyer both scored 24 points in the loss for the Grenadiers. Sawyer scored to give IUS an early 11-4 lead, then scored twice in the paint to put IUS up, 20-7. The lead reached its largest at 34-15 when Demetrius Stanton, who had 17 points, hit a pair of free throws with 8:22 to play in the first half.