Lamar State College Port Arthur led Panola College 23-8 through the first 21 minutes in a game coach Lance Madison said the Seahawks should have won easily.

“We were in the game all the way to the end,” he said. “We got out to a big lead. They came out and uncharacteristically hit some threes. And some teams do that.”

Even after a four-point lead in the final 3:26, missed opportunities came back to haunt Lamar State as Panola took a 79-74 victory at the Carl Parker Center, leading the Seahawks winless in Region XIV.

“I thought they hit some tough shots in the first half,” Madison said. “ … They did a good job executing late and they hit some tough shots. I thought we played well. It was a good game.”

Panola (9-5, 2-2 Region XIV North Zone), a 35.7 percent three-point shooting team, counted on the long ball to dig out of the big hole and eventually win. The Ponies, from Carthage, made 12 of 21 three-point attempts, including two clutch treys from Juwan Williams, who finished with 19 points and went 5 for 7 from the arc.

Marlon Taylor, who led the Ponies with 23 points and two steals, was 4 for 5 from the arc and 6 for 10 from the field. Williams shot 7 for 12 overall and made three steals.

T.J. Killings added 12 points in the win.

Free throw shooting hurt the Seahawks (6-8, 0-4 Region XIV South Zone), as they made 19 of 26. Panola hit 15 of 17. The Seahawks, though, controlled the glass and outrebounded the Ponies 36-22.

The defeat ended a two-game win string and three-game home stand for the Seahawks, but not without a near double-double from Rodney Brown. The sophomore forward from Beaumont had 25 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

Kolbe Littlefield finished with 12 points and made three treys in the early going, and Tra Grubbs pulled down 10 points to go with five points for Lamar State.

Panola turned a 23-8 deficit with 8:50 left before halftime into a 27-26 lead at the 3:16 mark. A three for Williams — the seventh for the Ponies — fashioned the halftime score at 39-34 in their favor.

“After we went on a big run, they made their big run because we broke down our defense on a couple of plays and they hit a couple of tough shots, and that gave them the lead,” Brown said.

Panola led by as many as eight points, but Brown, who shot 6 for 9 in the second half, willed Lamar State back in it and put the Seahawks in front 62-61 on a jumpshot with 5:29 left. Jase Miguez, the sophomore transfer from Nederland, scored all of his 10 points in the final 6 minutes, making 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.

The Seahawks were ahead by as many as four points before the Ponies made 4 of 4 from the stripe to tie the game at 69. Williams’ banked three-ball put the Ponies ahead for good with 1:40 left, and the Seahawks went 2 for 6 from the field the rest of the way, coming within 75-72 after a Miguez trey with 46 seconds left.

Lamar State will visit Paris Junior College on Monday and host Bossier Parish (Louisiana) Community College on Wednesday.

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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews