The result was a 130-57 victory over Lone Star College-Tomball at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
All 16 Buccaneers saw time on the court after Blinn (1-1) took control early in its home opener. Lone Star scored to make it a 15-6 Buccaneer lead early in the first half, but the hosts proceeded to reel off a 27-0 run that swiftly pushed the game into blowout territory.
Blinn led 61-25 at halftime.
“I was happy everybody got to play, and we got to see all of our guys in a game situation,” Bucs head coach Scott Schumacher said. “I kept telling our guys to guard, rebound, stay solid, and do what we do. We didn’t want them to play pickup ball just because the game got out of hand. We wanted them to stick with our brand of basketball and they did until the end.”
Fifteen different players scored at least four points for Blinn, including freshman guard Joey Ramirez, who tallied a team-high 20 points. Ramirez scored 13 of his points in the second half.
“We just wanted to come in and execute, lock down on defense and get everyone involved, and I think we did that today,” Ramirez said. “I liked how we played team ball and came together to get this W. We just have to keep practicing and keep getting better one day at a time.”
Sophomore guard Marco Foster had 13 points for the Bucs, sophomore guard Elijah Elliott added 12, sophomore guard Bakari LaStrap and freshman forward Kelvin Tamakloe tallied 11 apiece, and sophomore center Alex Tsynkevich and freshman forward Jamine Charles each chipped in 10.
(Pictured: Blinn College sophmore forward Alex Tsynkevich, center, dunks the ball during a game against Lone Star College-Tomball on Nov. 5)
“I’m glad everybody got a chance to play today,” Tsynkevich said. “We took care of business early, and that gave us a chance to work on some things, add in some new stuff for how we want to play this season, and also give guys the opportunity to score their first collegiate buckets. That was big for us.”
Blinn resumes play with a home game against Lone Star College-Cy Fair at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the Kruse Center.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
