After losing a heartbreaker to Texas A&M International on Saturday, the Dallas Baptist Basketball Team (13-11) needed a victory on Monday evening against UT-Permian Basin to better their chances of making the Heartland Conference Tournament. Down two with four ticks left on the clock, Senior Braxton Adamson's three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark, leaving the Patriots with a tough, 69-71 loss.

The loss drops the Patriots to 5-6 in the Heartland, and sets the state for a must win situation on Saturday against Oklahoma Panhandle State. Newman and St. Mary's are tied for third place, with DBU sitting one game back in fifth. A win by DBU on Saturday and a loss by both Newman and St. Mary's would mean a three-way tie for third place. Only the top four teams make the conference tournament with Texas A&M and UT-Permian Basin already holding the two top spots.

With a playoff atmosphere in the Burg Center on Monday evening, the Patriots opened up a nine-point lead early in the first half, but saw their advantage dwindle down to just one point with 7:37 left in the half. A pair of turnovers and cold shooting by the Patriots over a four minute span, allowed the Falcons back in to the game as they used an 11-3 run to pull within one, 24-23.

A jumper by Junior Jordan McGowen with 30 seconds remaining knotted the score at 33 apiece as both teams headed to the locker room.

Permian Basin opened up the second half with a 17-4 run, thanks to four consecutive possessions in which they drained a pair of three-pointers, a jumper, and yet another three, to take their biggest lead of the night, 50-38.

The Patriots fought their way back the ensuing three minutes, much in part due to the play of Freshman Ryan Marsh. Marsh knocked down three consecutive jumpers followed by a pair of free throws to pull the Patriots to within five, 49-54, with 9:36 remaining in the game.

After a deep three from Adamson that made it a three-point game, T.J. Clark stole the ball and found Junior Armie Lewis streaking down the right side who scored the bucket and was fouled on the play. Lewis calmly knocked down the free throw to tie the game at 64 with 2:45 remaining.

The very next possession, Lewis made another phenomenal play as he stripped the ball from UTPB forward Erik Martin, and tossed it back to teammate Nick Fox as he was falling out of bounds. The possession resulted in a free throw by Fox that gave DBU their first lead since the start of the second half.

One possession later, Lewis drained two more free throws followed by a jumper from McGowen that gave DBU a three-point lead, 69-66, with only 43 seconds remaining.

After a defensive foul on the Patriots, UTPB made two free throws, allowing them to set up their press. Going for a pass just past midcourt, Lewis took an inadvertent shot to the eye, resulting in a DBU turnover, and giving UTPB possession with only 22 seconds remaining.

Good ball movement by the Falcons left the Patriots scrambling on defense, and Louis Crane knocked down his third three-pointer of the evening to give UTPB a 71-69 advantage with just seven seconds remaining.

With his team down two with seven seconds left, Head Coach Blake Flickner called a timeout to draw up one final play for DBU. Unfortunately for the Patriots, the play resulted in a deep three-point attempt from Adamson that bounced harmlessly of the back iron.

McGowen led the Patriots with 18 points followed by Fox who finished with 17. Adamson and Marsh were the only other Patriots in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Prior to leaving the game with a swollen eye, Lewis finished with four steals to go along with four assists, all of which seemed to come at crucial moments throughout the game.

DBU will travel to Arkansas on Thursday for a game against provisional Heartland Conference member, Arkansas Fort Smith, before returning to DBU for their final home game of the season on February 26. Saturday's contest against Oklahoma Panhandle State will serve not only as a make or break for the conference tournament, but also as the Patriot's Senior Night as they honor three seniors playing in their final game at the Burg Center.