TYLER, Texas – Plagued by close losses all season, the Blinn men's basketball team found a way to win when it mattered most. 
The Buccaneers defeated Tyler Junior College 77-74 here at the Wagstaff Gym on Wednesday in their Region XIV Conference Tournament opener.
"I thought our guys were really focused and zeroed in on our game plan," Blinn (18-13) coach Scott Schumacher said. "We really executed today and made enough plays down the stretch to win the game."
Freshman point guard Jalan McCloud got a steal with 1.4 seconds to play that all but sealed the victory for the Bucs. Tyler fired off a prayer 3-pointer with less than a second remaining that bounced off the rim.
It was an intense final three minutes for Blinn before McCloud's steal.
McCloud, who scored 11 points and had two steals, helped the Bucs build a 74-69 lead with two minutes to play. Tyler, though, forced a Blinn turnover that cut that lead to two, and the Apaches tied the game at 74 with a minute to play off a Blinn offensive foul.
The Apaches nearly took the lead off what appeared to be a Blinn turnover, but Tyler was called for a foul. Sophomore guard Macari Brooks hit the ensuing two free throws to give the Bucs a 76-74 lead.
That's all the cushion the Bucs needed as they head to the tournament quarterfinals against No. 1 seed Paris at 1 p.m. Thursday.
Wednesday's win was a refreshing change of pace for Schumacher and the Bucs. Of their 13 losses on the season, nine have come by six points or fewer.
Brooks scored a team-high 15 points, while Cornell Barnett added 14 and Eddie Alcantara dropped 13 off the bench, including a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute of the first half to give Blinn a 37-33 halftime lead.
"Eddie hit some big shots for us today," Schumacher said. "Cornell gave us that big presence we needed in the paint."
Dominique Shaw led the Apaches with 21 points.
After hitting four 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the game, Tyler missed its final 14 shots behind the arc, including two in the final minute that would have given the Apaches the lead.
Blinn held on to its late lead going 8-for-12 from the free throw line in the final minutes.
The Bucs turn their focus to a Paris squad that handed them an 87-76 loss in November. Paris rallied for 50 second-half points after trailing 40-37 at halftime. It was Paris 3-pointers that killed the Bucs that game—the Dragons shot 33 percent from the 3-point line to Blinn's 6 percent.
"They're a very well coached team with a lot of good athletes," Schumacher said. "I expect it to be another grind-it-out game."
