BLINN MEN TAKE DOWN STRENGTH ‘N MOTION, 123-96

Azariah Seay scores team-high 22 points

BRENHAM, Texas — The Blinn College men’s basketball team (10-3, 1-2) used a combined strong offense and defense to take down Strength ‘N Motion, 123-96, on Monday night in the Kruse Center.

“I give my guys a lot of credit because that was a difficult game to play after two emotional conference games,” said Scott Schumacher, Blinn head coach. “I thought our guys came out, competed, and played extremely hard, and for that I am very impressed by them.”

Azariah Seay led the Buccaneers’ offense with 22 points, while Nic Tata followed with 18. Tristan Ikpe followed with 15 points, AJ Rainey and Markus Vallien scored 13 each, and Pedro Castro came up with 12.

“It was good to come out focused and get the win,” Seay said. “We went out there and competed as hard as we could and played for each other. Coming off this game we have positive vibes and will be ready to keep working hard in practice.”

Seay led the offense in the first half with 17 points to help the Buccaneers build a 30-point lead. With 12 minutes on the clock, Blinn was ahead 20-19 and started to pull away after Vallien hit a 3-pointer. Seay jumped in to lead Blinn on a 13-0 run with seven points for the Buccaneers to stay on top 40-21. Seay continued to contribute by putting up nine points in the final four minutes of the half for the Buccaneers to lead 65-35.

In the second half, Tata led the offense with 16 points. Blinn came out from the break with seven straight points to lead 71-37. Tata scored four consecutive points for Blinn to stay ahead 97-78 with 7:29 left to play. Jacob Paske and Ethan Austin sunk 3-pointers, and Bonke Maring followed with a slam dunk for Blinn pull ahead 120-86. Nicholas Statz scored the final 2-point shot for Blinn.

“It is really good for the team that we bounced back after losing the last two games and this win pepped us back up,” Tata said. “We really enjoyed playing this game in front of a crowd that is always amazing.”

Next, Blinn will take on North Lake College on Saturday, December 14, at 4 p.m. in the Kruse Center.

For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

(COURTESY: Tara Dreyer, Blinn Information)