Scott Schumacher has preached to his team all season about the importance of ‘staying ready.’
On Wednesday, Joey Ramirez showed exactly what that looks like.
The Blinn College men’s basketball team built a big second-half lead and Ramirez entered the game late and quickly reeled off an offensive flurry as Blinn routed Jacksonville College 94-70 in Region XIV play at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
A Jaguars bucket with about 12 minutes remaining pulled them to within 66-51, but Ramirez was beckoned from the Buccaneers’ bench and swiftly laid the visitors’ hopes of a rally to rest.
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore guard Joey Ramirez shoots a 3-pointer during a game against Jacksonville College on Feb. 7, 2024)
“I was just staying ready and waiting for my time,” said Ramirez, who finished with 10 points. “I’m going to come in and do whatever the team needs from me, and tonight I was just able to step up and got it going.”
Ramirez scored on a nifty layup, added another bucket in the paint moments later, then drilled a pair of 3-pointers to make it an 80-57 ballgame as Blinn’s sideline erupted in elation. Ramirez also finished with three rebounds and three assists.
“I’m very happy for Joey,” said Schumacher, Blinn’s head coach. “Since day one of his freshman year, he has shown up every day, he has worked extremely hard, he doesn’t pout or put his head down – he just works, and tonight was a perfect example of what happens when you put in the work.”
Blinn (17-6, 8-4 Region XIV) had it going virtually all night, as its offense started hot and got even hotter during what proved to be a game-sealing rally in the first half.
After Jacksonville sank a free throw to pull ahead 19-18 with 9:25 to play before halftime, freshman wing Anthony Isaac gave the Bucs the lead for good with a layup. Isaac’s bucket ignited a 15-0 run for the hosts, capped off by a 3 from sophomore guard Jadin Johnson just past the 5-minute mark.
(Pictured: Blinn freshman Anthony Isaac puts up a shot during a game against Jacksonville College on Feb. 7, 2024)
The Jaguars showed some life near the end of the half to cut the lead to 41-32 at the break and were within 47-41 in the opening minutes of the second half. Sophomore forward Jamine Charles sank a free throw follow and Isaac followed with a putback layup before six consecutive Buccaneer points made it a 56-43 ballgame.
“Jacksonville came out hot and was hitting a bunch of 3-pointers, but coach stayed in our ears about how we needed to keep battling and keep fighting, so that’s what we did,” Isaac said. “And then we were able to turn to our bench, which is very deep, so guys like Joey were coming in and out and making an impact, and we were able to pull away because of it.”
Isaac continued his streak of double-digit scoring efforts with a team-high 24 points. He has scored at least 10 points in his past 12 contests, and has tallied 20 or more points in five of his last six. Sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard added 12 points, Johnson added 11, and sophomore guard Nick Folk chipped in eight. Isaac and Gilyard each had a team-best nine rebounds.
“Jacksonville had been playing well and we knew it was going to be a difficult game,” Schumacher added. “We just kept telling our guys, ‘keep going, keep going, keep going,’ and we believed in the long run our guys had a chance to wear them out and we did.”
Blinn’s season continues with a region road bout at Lamar State College-Port beginning at 4 p.m on Saturday, Feb. 10, in Port Arthur, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
