BUC WOMEN/MEN ROLL TO HOOP WINS

 

No. 24 Blinn Women defeat Kilgore for sixth straight win, 80-68

Kristine Ezimako leads the Buccaneers with 21 points

KILGORE, Texas — The No. 24 Blinn College women’s basketball team (19-4, 8-3) picked up its sixth straight win after downing Kilgore College, 80-68, on Wednesday night.

Kristine Ezimako

“It was a good road win against a very good opponent,” said Jeff Jenkins, Blinn head coach.

Gabriella Bosquez

Kristine Ezimako led Blinn’s offense with 21 points, while Gabriela Bosquez followed with 18 and Hailey Atwood scored 17.

Blinn opened the game strong to take a 22-14 lead in the first quarter and led by 10 points (47-37) at the break. The Lady Rangers outscored the Buccaneers in the third quarter, but Blinn held onto a 60-56 lead. Blinn scored 20 points, while limiting Kilgore to 12 in the final quarter for the 12-point win.

Next, the Buccaneers will compete on the road against No. 2 Trinity Valley Community College, Saturday at 2 p.m.

Blinn Men down Lamar State-Port Arthur, 88-77

AJ Rainey leads the Buccaneers with 28 points

BRENHAM, Texas — The Blinn College men’s basketball team (16-8, 6-7) downed Lamar State College-Port Arthur, 88-77, on Wednesday night in the Kruse Center.

A.J. Rainey
(Tara Dreyer)

“We knew coming into this game it was a big game against a really good team that is well-coached,” said Scott Schumacher, Blinn head coach. “Our guys are starting to figure it out and are playing both physically and mentally every time they are on the court. We just kept going after them and our talent level really took over.”

Four Buccaneers reached double-digit points as AJ Rainey led Blinn’s offense with 28, Azariah Seay followed with 19, Pedro Castro scored 13 and Tristan Ikpe recorded 10.

“This was a big game for us and the home crowd really helped keep our energy up and us get more shots,” Castro said. “Coach Schumacher told us that we needed to start separating ourselves so we had the right mindset coming into the game. AJ and Azariah started hitting big shots in the second half and that was big for us.”

Azariah Seay
(Tara Dreyer)

The Seahawks raced to a 10-0 lead to open the game, but Tristan Ikpe and AJ Rainey combined for eight straight points and Markus Vallien hit a 3-pointer for Blinn to take a 11-10 lead with 14:22 showing on the clock. Back-to-back shots from downtown put the Seahawks back ahead 16-11 until Blinn went on a 6-0 run to get back a 20-19 advantage. After alternating shots at the basket, the Seahawks broke away on a 6-0 run to lead 44-39. Rainey combined for the next five points with a 2-pointer and 3-pointer to even the score 44-44 at the halfway mark.

The Seahawks came out of the second half soaring with six straight points, but Blinn’s 10-point run allowed the Buccaneers to pull ahead 59-51. With 8:49 on the clock, Lamar State-Port Arthur evened the score 64-64, but Blinn responded by scoring 10 straight points. Rainey and Castro each scored 3-pointers in the run and further down the stretch Seay scored back-to-back shots from downtown to keep Blinn ahead 82-67. The Buccaneers held onto the lead in the final four minutes for the win.

Next, the Buccaneers will compete on the road against Jacksonville College on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 6 p.m.

For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.

(COURTESY: Tara Dreyer, Blinn Information)

 

 

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