Intent on finding a chink in the Jacksonville College armor in the second half, the Buccaneers finally found their offensive groove during their Region XIV South Zone tilt against the Jaguars and rallied for a 96-87 victory in Jacksonville, Texas.
“It was a typical Region XIV basketball game on the road, especially toward the end of the year with everybody playing for region tournament seeding,” Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher said. “Jacksonville played us tough with their defensive attacks, but we found something that worked against it and our guys did a really good job to bust out and go on a couple of runs to take the lead.”
Jacksonville held a 52-48 halftime edge, but Blinn (22-7 overall, 15-3 South Zone) stepped on the gas behind a season-high 30 points from freshman guard Masiah Gilyard. Sophomore guards Elijah Elliott, Bakari LaStrap, and Marco Foster added 19, 13, and 12 points, respectively.
The Bucs finish the regular season with a bout against Angelina College at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas. Blinn will celebrate Sophomore Day along with the third-ranked Buccaneer women’s basketball team, which hosts No. 2 Trinity Valley Community College at 5:30 p.m., ahead of the men’s contest.
As part of the festivities, the Kruse Center concession stand will offer 25-cent hot dogs.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.