JACKSONVILLE, Texas – The Blinn men's basketball team had enough of being on the wrong end of close games.

So the Buccaneers changed their fortunes here Saturday with a 70-67 come-from-behind win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

"Any time you can win a game on the road in this league, and win a close game, it's only going to help your team's confidence," Blinn (15-10, 5-9) coach Scott Schumacher said.

It was a big win in an even bigger game for the Bucs, who are battling for positioning in the Region XIV Conference Tournament March 4-8. And turning in the biggest performance of the night—and of his career—was freshman guard Jalan McCloud.

McCloud dropped 26 points, hit four 3-pointers and was 6 of 8 from the free throw line.

"That was the best game he's played as a Buccaneer," Schumacher said.

And perhaps the biggest shot of the night came from McCloud in the final seconds.

With a 69-67 Blinn lead, McCloud went 1 of 2 from the free throw line to extend that lead to three. Jacksonville was forced to find an open shot from the beyond the 3-point arc in the remaining 15 seconds, but a stingy Blinn defense never allowed the Jaguars a chance.

"Our guys did a great job of covering up and buckling down there at the end," Schumacher said.

The Bucs forced a Jacksonville turnover to seal the victory.

The win came after Blinn was forced to complete two second-half comebacks. The Bucs were down 39-32 at halftime, and Jacksonville extended that deficit to 10 in the second half.

But behind McCloud, Macari Brooks, who scored 15 points, and Roderick Harris, who scored nine points and had pulled down seven rebounds, Blinn tied the game with nine minutes to play.

Jacksonville would go on a run take a seven-point lead before Blinn forced another comeback.

"Our guys never gave up tonight," Schumacher said. "They battled and played the entire 40 minutes. The gym was loud and packed, but our guys never cracked."