Hanifin hit a three-pointer off the right elbow at the buzzer in overtime to lift the Ephs over Springfield at the Chandler Gymnasium, 88-87.
Hanifin's game-winning basket capped a comeback that saw the Ephs rally from 15 points down in the second half. Sophomore point guard Chris Shalvoy led the comeback, scoring nine of his game-high 27 points in the overtime period and 22 of his 27 in the second half and overtime periods.
The Ephs (7-2) never led in the overtime until Hanifin's buzzer-beater. All 15 of Williams' points in overtime came on three-pointers. Williams had 19 three-pointers in the game, on 44 trey attempts. In the final 13:27 of the game, including OT, the Ephs sank 12 threes. The Ephs were 5 of 7 from beyond the three-point line in overtime, and 9 of 18 in the second half.
"I thought I would be the last person in the gym to touch that ball," Hanifin said of his game-winner. "I guarantee I was the most scared person in the gym."
Hanifin had never hit a buzzer-beater before today.
"Obviously, no one's ever asked me to take one before," he said. "I'm not sure Coach Paulsen will again."
Springfield (1-7) was led by Derek Yvon's 25 points, while both Joel Aponte and Jamaal Gibbs netted 13 each. Chris Rose scored 21 for the Ephs, while Andrew Newton posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
"I told Brendan during the timeout before overtime, he was going to win the game for us with an offensive rebound," Williams coach David Paulsen said. "He kind of made a liar out of me by knocking that shot down. What a great message to every player not in the rotation. He kept working hard and when he got his opportunity, he made the most of it.
"You need a win like that to propel you. I am thrilled, but we still have a lot of work to do."
The Pride led 41-33 at the half after shooting 50 percent (17 of 34) from the floor and outrebounding the Ephs 23-17 over the first 20 minutes. Springfield then went on a 7-0 run to start the second half and when Yvon drained a three with 18:06 remaining, the Pride led 48-33.
Shortly thereafter Paulsen switched Shalvoy to cover Yvon and brought Hanifin into the game for his defense. The Ephs cut the deficit to four, but a Springfield run gave the visitors an 11-point lead, 60-49, with 11:06 to go.
"The key to the game was Chris Shalvoy's defense on Yvon in the second half," Paulsen said. "That, and Brendan's defense and energy on the glass. Those two guys willed us to victory."
It was a string of threes — what else? — which brought the Ephs back. Junior Brian Nelson hit one off an assist from Shalvoy to bring the Ephs within seven. Chris Rose, who sank seven treys in the game and finished with 21 points, cut the lead to six with another. After Shalvoy connected on a 15-foot deuce and Damian Farley answered with a bucket of his own for the Pride, the Ephs point guard hit a three from the left wing that cut it to five. Andrew Newton secured a defensive rebound, and Nelson knocked down another trey, this one with 3:55 to go, which made it a 66-64 Springfield lead.
"The guys did not panic when we got down 15," Paulsen said. "We're a bad defensive team right now, and a bad rebounding team, but we made some stops down the stretch. And what a performance by Chris Shalvoy — 27 points, 8 assists and great defense. He was phenomenal."
Williams took its first lead of the second half when Shalvoy knocked down another three from the left wing 44 seconds later. The Pride rebounded with a Yvon drive for two and two free throws by Aponte, but Hanifin stepped up and nailed a trey with 1:45 to go which tied the game at 70.
Rose then snatched a rebound out of the hands of the Pride's Brian Riley, raced down the court to receive a pass from Shalvoy and sunk another three-pointer with 52 seconds left which gave Williams a 73-70 lead. The Pride's Farley went to the line with 5.9 seconds left down one and with two shots, but missed the first. He hit the second to tie the game, and Rose's trey attempt with two seconds left in regulation found the front end of the iron to send the game into overtime.
Springfield standout Mike DeCesar opened the extra session with a three-pointer — the Pride hit on 7 of 21 trey attempts in the game — for a 76-73 lead. Shalvoy tied it with his fifth three, but the Pride forged ahead again on a tip-in from Farley and two free throws from Gibbs.
Shalvoy tied the game at 82 with his 7th and final three with 1:48 to go, but the Pride once again took a three-point lead. With 21.5 seconds to go, Rose tied the game at 85 with his 7th and final trey.
The Pride went ahead again on a bucket by Yvon that came with 5.5 seconds remaining, but Newton got the ball to Shalvoy, who found Hanifin on the right elbow and the sophomore's three dropped in as the buzzer sounded.
The Ephs lost to Springfield last season in the game before the winter break, so many players felt it was imperative not to let it happen again.
"We needed to win this, we definitely did not want another loss hanging over our heads over the break like last year," Hanifin said. "It's a big win, because that's a really good team."
Hanifin finished with seven points and three rebounds while Will Kuntz and Brian Nelson each scored eight for Williams. Kuntz also had seven rebounds and four blocked shots.