The Blinn College men's basketball team fell to Panola College 58-54 in a Region XIV matchup Saturday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.

The setback was the Buccaneers' first in conference play this season. Blinn is now 8-5 overall and 3-1 in Region XIV.

The Bucs trailed 57-54 in the final seconds and had a chance to tie the game and force overtime, but a 3-pointer attempt missed its mark and the Ponies held on.

"It was a very tough, hard-fought, highly contested game on both sides," Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher said. "Credit to Panola for coming out on top. We had our opportunities and didn't capitalize on them. Hopefully we'll learn from our mistakes as we move forward."

Panola held a 29-27 halftime lead.

Buccaneer sophomore guard Damian Watson and sophomore forward Alex Tsynkevich each had a team-best 13 points. Sophomore guard Marco Foster added 12.

Blinn finishes the first half of its season when it hosts Strength 'N Motion at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas. 

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.