UT-Permian Basin hit 10 3-pointers Thursday night before visiting UA Fort Smith sank its first attempt from long range after missing 12 straight threes as the Falcons held off the Lions in the final possessions for a 78-74 home Heartland Conference win in Odessa.

The win, UTPB's third in four games on its home court in conference play, came as the Falcons hit six threes in the first half while UAFS was 0-9 behind the arc to put UTPB in the lead 41-37 at half.

Three straight threes early in the second half, two by Sam Stirgus capped a possession later by Darnell Vandivort broke open a two-point game with a 9-0 run for a 54-43 UTPB lead.

Codye Hatcher put UTPB up by 14 on a layup after a steal by Malcolm Hill-Bey with 11:04 to play, but the Lions whittled the lead down to five points, 66-61, with over six minutes left in the game.

UAFS closed within a pair of points three different times in the final four minutes, but the Falcons had answers every time. Gary Akbar and Vandivort answered back to back with a layup and three outside of two minutes left in the night for a 76-71 lead, and following a Seth Youngblood 3-pointer to close within 76-74 and 1:13 to play, Johnnie Lacy grabbed a rebound off a missed 3-pointer that would have given the Lions the lead and locked up the game with a pair of free throws at the line with three seconds left for the four-point win.

Akbar and Lacy ended the night in double figures with 17 and 16 points, respectively, but at least six individuals contributed eight points on the game for UTPB. Akbar led UTPB with 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the year.

Alex Cooper scored 21 for UA Fort Smith to lead all players in the game. He was 6-10 inside the arc and just 2-10 from long distance.

UTPB looks to move to .500 in conference play this weekend when it welcomes Rogers State to town at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon.