A first-half run and dominant play in the paint helped the Blinn College men’s basketball team complete a regular-season sweep of Victoria College as the Buccaneers earned an 88-71 Region XIV victory Wednesday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn improved to 20-6 overall and reached the 20-win mark for the second consecutive season. The Bucs also jumped to 11-4 in the Region XIV South Zone. Blinn has now won seven games in a row.
“Victoria came in here tonight having won two games in a row and they’re fighting for a playoff spot, so we told our guys they would come out and play hard,” Bucs head coach Scott Schumacher said. “We told our guys they were going to need to be ready to go and be ready to play, and I thought they competed hard. We guarded, rebounded, moved the ball well, and we were fortunate enough to come away with the victory.”
A big part of Blinn’s success against the Pirates was steady play around the basket.
Sophomore forward Jamine Charles proved a reliable option near the bucket for the Bucs as he battled through stiff defensive pressure for an array of layups and floaters. He finished his night with a team-high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Anthony Isaac also made his presence felt in the paint as he notched 17 points for the 15th consecutive game and picked up 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the year. Sophomore Dresean Knight complemented the efforts of Charles and Isaac with eight points and a ferocious block of a Victoria shot late in the game.
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore Dresean Knight dunks the ball during a game against Victoria College on Feb. 21, 2024)
“In practice we compete and work hard, and it translates to the games,” Knight said. “Victoria was double-teaming us in the post, but we were able to swing the ball around and get everyone touches, and we found ways to finish in the paint.”
Victoria gave Blinn trouble early thanks in part to the hot shooting of guard Kalen White (38 points, eight 3-pointers), and trailed just 22-20 with 8 minutes remaining in the first half. That was as close as the visitors would come the rest of the way, however, as a 15-5 run put the Bucs firmly in control.
Sophomore guard Jadin Johnson scored on a pull-up jumper, Knight slammed home a two-handed dunk, and sophomore guard Joey Ramirez sank back-to-back mid-range floaters. Following a made free throw from Johnson, freshman guard Reese Miller hit the floor to corral a loose ball and quickly dished to Isaac for a layup. After Isaac added another layup, he made a highlight reel play when he fired a pass from his tiptoes near the baseline into the hands of Charles. Charles quickly buried a layup of his own to put Blinn ahead 37-25.
“Coach just told us to lock in,” Charles said. “He likes when we penetrate the ball down low, and that has been great for us lately. We can pass the ball inside and then swing it back out to our shooters, or we can take the ball inside and go to work. It just really helps our offense all the way around.”
The Bucs led 43-28 at halftime.
Blinn opened the second half with a 10-3 burst and never looked back.
Sophomore guard Patrick Neal Jr. had 12 points for Blinn, sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard added 10, and Johnson chipped in nine.
The Bucs visit eighth-ranked Lee College for a region clash at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24. Lee sits in first place in the South with a 13-2 mark. One of those losses came at the hands of Blinn in an 88-68 Bucs victory on Jan. 31.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
