Buccaneers hold off late charge from Tyler, 75-74

Lionheart Leslie sinks two free throws with 1.7 left for win

BRENHAM, Texas – Lionheart Leslie wasn’t perfect on his free throws but he was able to nail two of them when it counted most with 1.7 seconds left to give the Blinn College men’s basketball team a 75-74 victory over Tyler Junior College Jan. 7 in Brenham.

Leslie, who is listed as the shortest Buccaneer on the team, made it to the free throw line after grabbing an offensive rebound away from a trio of Tyler defenders to save the game for Blinn and improve the conference record to 5-1.

“I thought the team played real well,” said Blinn coach Scott Schumacher. “At any time we were able to spread the floor but then Tyler would hit a 3 to keep it close.”

Leslie was also the leading scorer for Blinn with 18 points as 12 of those came in the second half. Morris Dunnigan followed that with 17 points and Vicktor Arnick and Ja’Cardo Hawkins each scored 12 points for the Buccaneers.

Tyler came with the mindset to get the ball deep in the low post and get buckets as close to the basket as possible, testing the interior defense for Blinn. The Buccaneers were up to the challenge and with the outside shooting of Dunnigan, Blinn was able to take a 24-17 lead with 4:29 left in the first half.

Dunnigan scored 10 points in the opening half but Blinn had a hard time shaking Tyler as the visiting Apaches trimmed the lead to two as the Buccaneers held on for a 30-28 lead at the break.

Neither team could find any space to run away with a lead in the second half as teams traded jabs and nearly matched each other each time down the floor.

In the final minutes, Tyler scored seven straight points to grab a 74-73 lead but that is when Leslie grabbed his offensive rebound and was subsequently fouled. Leslie nailed both free throws for a 75-74 lead and Tyler could only heave a shot from half court that fell harmlessly to the floor behind the basket.

“I knew in my mind that I would have to hit these shots because we didn’t want to go to overtime,” Leslie said. “I just thought I would head to the basket just in case and I was able to get the rebound.”

Blinn, now 13-2 over and having recently received a vote in the NJCAA Division I poll, will not travel to face Navarro College on Jan. 10 at 4 p.m.

Story Courtesy

Jake Gordon
Blinn Communications & Sports Information Specialist