BLINN MEN HOLD ON FOR WIN
Buccaneers hold off late rally from Panola, 79-72
BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College men’s basketball held a 17-point at the half over Panola College but the Buccaneers saw the lead nearly slip away in the second half. Blinn was able to get the needed big plays down the stretch for a 79-72 victory Dec. 10 in Brenham.
The biggest plays for the Buccaneers came with a little less than a minute remaining and Blinn clinging to a 68-67 lead. On consecutive possessions, Lionheart Leslie drove around the Panola defense for a layup and Morris Dunnigan put the icing on the cake on the following possession with a driving dunk and a free throw for the 73-67 lead.
“I am starting to get more comfortable playing out there,” Dunnigan said after the game. “Really just more experience with the team is helping me.”
From there, Blinn was able to make all six of its free throws to clinch the victory and move to 3-1 in conference play and 10-2 overall.
“I think we missed a lot of easy shots in the second half and that is just them being freshman and not being used to the physicality of the game,” said Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher.
Vicktor Arnick hit some big shots for the Buccaneers throughout the game and led the team with 19 points. Dunnigan finished with 17 points and Leslie chipped in 12 points. Cody Everitt finished with nine points and Jalan McCloud tossed in eight points in the win.
Baskets didn’t come easy for Blinn in the first half but they execute the offense so well that it looked easy. An 11-1 run midway through the first half helped the Buccaneers grab a 21-14 lead. Dunnigan was a big reason for the early lead as he scored 10 points in the half.
The shooting of Arnick was the reason that Blinn was able to maintain its lead in the first half as he hit two 3-pointers and even converted a 3-point play to lead the team with 11 points in the opening half and guide Blinn out to a 41-24 lead at the half.
The lead didn’t stay big for Blinn as Panola fought back with a 17-2 run in the middle of the second half that brought visiting Panola within 56-52 with 7:12 remaining.
To its credit, Blinn never lost possession of the lead. Bigs plays from Leslie and Dunnigan late helped to lift the Buccaneers to victory. Arnick and Leslie scored eight points in the second half while Dunnigan added seven in the final 20 minutes.
Blinn will enjoy the holiday break off but will come back for a game on Dec. 31 against Lone Star College-Tomball at 3 p.m. in Brenham.
For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
(Story & photos courtesy: Jake Gordon, Blinn Information)