BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College men’s basketball trailed Kilgore College by seven with 42.3 seconds left to play but was able to score the final seven points of regulation and control overtime to earn a 91-88 victory Saturday night inside the P.E. Building.
The Buccaneers were staring down a loss but were able to erase the seven-point deficit at the end of regulation with a 3-pointer from Corey Henderson and two free throws each from Morris Dunnigan and John Dewey. Dewey hit the game-tying free throws and scored the final four points in overtime to help Blinn improve to 12-2 overall and 3-2 in Region XIV play.
“We had some lucky breaks and we had some guys step up and make shots,” said Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher. “That was one of those games where they just refused to lose.”
Dewey wasn’t the leading scorer for Blinn but his offense showed up right in time for the Buccaneers to get a victory and ended the game with 18 points.
“We just kept fighting,” Dewey said, after the game. “Coach was just telling us to not give up on a play even though we were down.”
Dunnigan scored 26 of his 29 team-high points after the opening half. Henderson scored 17 points and Victor Dukes added 14 in the victory.
Henderson was able to find his shot in the first half, as he hit four 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes to pace the Buccaneers with 12 points and Dewey had eight points as Blinn held a slim 39-38 lead at the break.
Kilgore turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to frustrate Blinn and it worked as Kilgore jumped out to a 61-48 lead with 7:57 left in the game. Kilgore was able to hold on to a 79-72 lead with 42.3 seconds left in regulation.
That is when momentum started to shift as Henderson got it started with a 3-pointer and then Dunnigan got a steal and was fouled and hit both of his foul shots to pull within 79-77 of Kilgore. After a defensive stand, Dewey was fouled and hit two big free throws to tie the game and eventually send the game into overtime.
Blinn trailed 88-87 with 52.4 seconds left in overtime but that is when Dewey hit a shot with his foot on the 3-point line to give the Buccaneers an 89-88 lead. Dewey followed that by getting a steal on the defensive end and hitting his two free throws to seal the victory for Blinn.
Blinn will have another challenge coming up as it travels to face Tyler Junior College Wednesday, Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 32 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
