The Buccaneers improved to 18-7 overall and 11-3 in conference play, surpassing their win total from the 2021-22 campaign.
Blinn’s 18th win required a late second-half run after the Pirates trimmed the Bucs’ 52-30 halftime lead to 70-63 with 8:28 left in the game.
A 6-0 burst made possible by a tip-in from freshman guard Masiah Gilyard and back-to-back layups from sophomore guard Elijah Elliott put Blinn in control at 80-65, and a back-and-forth battle the rest of the way finished in the hosts’ favor.
The win was the Bucs’ second over the Pirates this season.
“Victoria College has some good players over there and a good coach, and it was a battle until the very end for us,” Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher said. “I expect nothing less; that was only the second team we’ve played twice this season, and our players are learning how tough it can be to beat a team a second time. Any time you play a team a second time after winning the first game, that team is going to come out and play harder and try to get that win back. I thought they did a good job, but I also thought our guys did a great job of hanging in there.”
Schumacher said his team’s resolve in the second half after Victoria trimmed its deficit to single digits was a result of sophomore leadership. The Bucs played 10 sophomores in the win, and three of them – Elliott (22 points) and sophomore guards Marco Foster (20) and Damian Watson (12) – scored in double figures.
“Our preparation is big, and we know what we’re supposed to do when we’re on the court,” Schumacher explained. “We just have to execute, and I thought our guys did.”
Gilyard also starred for the Bucs, tallying 11 of his 19 points in the second half to give his team a lift.
“My team has trust in me, and we have the mentality that if someone is struggling, it’s all about the next man stepping up,” Gilyard said. “Everyone is out here to do what they have to do to help the team earn a win.”
Blinn, which is in second place in the conference standings, visits third-place Coastal Bend College for a region rematch at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11, in Beeville, Texas. The Bucs defeated Coastal Bend 83-78 in Brenham on Jan. 14.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
