BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College men played 35 minutes of really good basketball and had just enough in the tank to hold on for a 79-74 victory over Lee College inside the P.E. Building in Brenham Feb. 11.

Vicktor Arnick hit two free throws with 6:01 left in the game to put the Buccaneers up 77-58 but Lee closed out the game with a frantic 16-2 run that made the game interesting in the final minutes. Blinn was able to hold on for its fourth win in a row to boost its conference record to 10-5 and 19-6 overall.

“I thought we took a couple ill-advised shots and didn’t move the ball like we were supposed to down the stretch,” said Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher. “But you know what, for 35 minutes we played pretty good and we were able to win.”

Jalan McCloud led the way for Blinn with an impressive second half of 13 points and finished the game with 21. Ja’Cardo Hawkins had a balanced game in the post with 17 points and Morris Dunnigan finished with 14. Lionheart Leslie had 12 points and Arnick also had 12 points but also hustled to get extra rebounds and steals in an all-around game for the sophomore.

“Lee came in pretty big with a lot of tall players so I had to do my job to help rebound and put in extra effort so we could win,” Arnick said after the game. “I just have long arms that helped me get a couple steals.”

Blinn came out scoring the first six points of the game but grabbing the momentum would be difficult as Lee fought back the entire half. Lee even held a 33-28 lead with 4:43 left in the first but Blinn would close out strong.

Leslie and Dunnigan each scored 10 points in the first half and McCloud added eight points. McCloud hit a 3 and Leslie followed with a 3-pointer of his own and an ensuing foul shot to complete a 4-point play just before halftime to give Blinn a 43-38 lead at the break.

ACBS animated gifMcCloud kept the momentum going to start the second half as he scored seven points in a 9-2 run that gave the Buccaneers a 52-42 lead. Seven straight points scored for Blinn capped by the free throws from Arnick helped the Buccaneers out to their biggest lead at 77-58 but that is when the aggressive offense stopped and Lee started chipping away.

Lee scored 11 consecutive points to get within eight at 77-69 with 1:06 remaining. Hawkins hit a basket in the post that gave Blinn a little breathing room but Lee made it look close but still fell by five points.

Blinn will again be at home Feb. 14 when it hosts San Jacinto College-Central at 6 p.m.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 30 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.