BUCCANEERS FALL SHORT IN LOSS TO ANGELINA, 89-85

Jelan McCloud
Jelan McCloud

Blinn College had shots to go-ahead and tie in final minute fall short

The Blinn College men’s basketball team had its chances down the stretch to take a lead and to tie Angelina College but those shots bounced off the iron as Angelina held on for a 89-85 victory Jan. 28 in Brenham.

“I told them that the last minute and a half we had two wide-open looks but they just didn’t go in,” said Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher. “We had a chance to win it there in the end but just couldn’t pull it off.”

The offense was working fine for the Buccaneers down the stretch but key defensive stops were hard to come by in the closing minutes, putting more pressure on the offense in the loss.

The loss spoiled two spectacular performances by Jalan McCloud and Morris Dunnigan, who combined to score 50 points for the Buccaneers. McCloud had his shot going nearly all night and finished with 26 points while Dunnigan also found his points in a 24-point game for the freshman.

Rick Curry and Lionheart Leslie each scored 12 points in the loss that moves the Blinn conference record to 6-5 and 15-6 overall. This was the first for the Buccaneers inside the P.E. Building in Brenham on the season.

Neither team grabbed the momentum in the first half as Angelina was shooting lights out from the outside but Blinn was countering that with an impressive first half from McCloud. With 15 points in the first half, McCloud teamed up with Dunnigan, who scored 12 in the first, to keep pace with Angelina. The Buccaneers held a slim 43-42 lead at the break.

The way Angelina came out in the second half might have made the difference in the game. Behind three made shots from behind the arc, Angelina opened the second with an 11-2 run to grab a 53-45 lead with 17:40 to go.

Morris Dunnigan
Morris Dunnigan

Blinn slowly chipped away at the Angelina lead with Dunnigan scoring 12 in the half and McCloud chipping in 11 points. Curry started in the second half and contributed eight points to help the Buccaneers claim a post presence.

Trailing by four with 2:05 remaining, Blinn got a bucket in the post by Curry and Vicktor Arnick made one of two free throws to get within 86-85 with 1:08 left. McCloud had a 3-point attempt miss for the lead and Dunnigan later had a 3-point try to tie but bounced off the rim as Angelina held on for the four-point victory.

Blinn will travel to face Lamar State College – Port Arthur on Jan. 31 for a game at 4 p.m.

For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

 

(Story & photos courtesy: Jake Gordon, Blinn Information)

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