BLINN MEN BEAT TYLER FOR THIRD STRAIGHT CONFERENCE WIN

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

The Blinn College men's basketball team continued its steady climb back into contention in the Region XIV standings with an impressive 83-63 region home win over Tyler Junior College on Saturday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.

The Buccaneers (10-9, 6-5 Region XIV) stood at 3-5 in region play following a Jan. 15 loss and looked to be heading in the wrong direction in one of the toughest leagues in junior college men's basketball. 

Blinn has since responded to that adversity with a much-needed three-game winning streak that continued with Saturday's blowout. With the win, the Bucs are now tied with Lee College for fourth place in the 12-team region.

"We have been playing really good basketball lately, and even though the results weren't always going our way I believed we were getting better and had a chance to start making a run," Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher said. "This recent stretch of games was critical for us and our guys have stepped up and played really well."

The Bucs have knocked off Bossier Parish Community College, Lee, and Tyler as they continue turning their ship around.

Saturday's contest went Blinn's way after a back-and-forth ballgame in the first half.

With the Bucs ahead just 38-33 at halftime, they went on a run in the second half to seize control.

A pair of double-doubles from sophomore forwards Anthony Isaac (25 points and 14 rebounds) and London Maiden (14 points, 16 rebounds) certainly helped, but Schumacher said Blinn's victory was a product of a simplistic approach.

"We moved the ball down the floor, ran our offense and moved the ball around, got a good shot, got back on defense, guarded, and rebounded," Schumacher said. "Our guys are starting to figure it out; they're buying into what we're asking them to do and doing things that all coaches emphasize, and doing them at a level that is conducive to winning games."

Freshman guard Jakeel Registe added 12 points for the Bucs, sophomore guard Reese Miller had 11, and sophomore guard Jaden Andrew dished out eight assists.

Blinn gets its chance to move further up the region standings when it faces Coastal Bend College at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 29, in Beeville, Texas.