BLINN MEN USE 17-0 RUN TO DEFEAT NAVARRO

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

Blinn College men's basketball used a big rally in the first half to propel itself to a big 90-77 Region XIV road win over Navarro College on Wednesday in Corsicana, Texas.

With the victory, the Buccaneers improved to 12-10 overall and 8-6 in region play.

The Bulldogs looked poised to take a modest lead into halftime as they held a 32-25 lead over Blinn with just over 3 minutes to go. The Bucs had other ideas, however, as freshman guard Jakeel Registe drilled a long  jumper with 3:18 on the clock to kickstart a massive 17-0 run.

"We were trailing, and I just told our guys, 'Keep playing because you're doing fine; just keep playing,'" Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher said. "We have won some tough games, and we've lost some tough games, but our mentality right now is that we're good because we've been through this before. I was really happy with our effort and our response tonight and thought we played a really good basketball game."

In the midst of the run, sophomore forward London Maiden converted a layup through contact and was fouled with 2:02 left before hitting the subsequent free throw to tie the game. After Blinn collected a defensive rebound on the other end, freshman guard Dashawn Ceaser put the Bucs up for good when he sank a step-back 3-pointer near the top of the key.

Blinn closed out the half with a 40-32 cushion when Registe added a technical free throw and sophomore guard Jaden Andrew intercepted a Navarro pass before dishing an assist to Ceaser for a layup in transition.

The Bucs' surge continued into the second half as they grabbed their first double-digit lead of the game when sophomore forward Anthony Isaac drove to the basket for a layup to make it 42-32.

Blinn was ahead 56-41 with just under 15 minutes remaining when the Bulldogs made their final push of the game with a 10-0 spurt that cut their deficit to five.

"We took a timeout and told our guys that we weren't going to change anything we were doing," Schumacher said. "Our players went back out on the court and took momentum back; they helped each other, they did a great job on the ball screens, and played great overall defense to win this one."

Shortly after the timeout, Maiden scored on a layup and sophomore Reese Miller buried a floater as he was fouled. After Navarro got to within eight, Caeser hit another 3 to put Blinn up 11 and the Bucs remained in control from there.

On the night, Isaac paced the Bucs with 25 points and 15 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the year. Caesar followed with 17 points with the help of five 3s and distributed nine assists. Registe had 17 points of his own, Maiden tallied 13, and Andrew had 10. Miller chipped in eight points and six assists.

Blinn's season continues with a road trip to region rival Tyler Junior College at 4 p.m. on Saturday.