“You want to try to win as many games as you can,” the Buccaneers’ head coach said following a season-opening 91-68 home victory over the Hurricanes at the Kruse Center in Brenham. “I was just glad we were able to get a win, and everybody was able to play.”
Blinn built a comfortable lead early and Schumacher was able to empty his bench. The Bucs led 36-16 with 7:06 left in the first half.
“Everybody needs to get in and see what they’ve got and see what this level is all about,” Schumacher explained. “It’s the beginning of the season, the first game of the year and everybody has things they need to work on. The guys maybe have some first-game jitters, and you let them get out there and play and get a feel for the game and you get to see how all of that plays out.”
After a Houston 3-pointer gave the visitors their only lead of the night at 3-2, Blinn overwhelmed the Hurricanes with a 21-5 run.
A variety of Buccaneers got in on the move as Jaja Sanni started the rally with a jumper that rattled around the rim before dropping in. Alex Tsynkevich added a hook shot, Calvin Carpenter sank a layup, Damian Watson added a free throw, Tyler Washington converted a thunder alley-oop dunk and Tsynkevich gave the hosts their first double-digit lead with a layup to make it 15-5 at the 14:49 mark of the first half.
Maurice Pinnock knocked down a 3 to keep the offense rolling for Blinn, and Connor Raines drilled a pull-up jumper before Pinnock added a trey. Elisa Ngoga’s contested layup made its 25-9
The Buccaneers led by as many as 25 twice in the first half, and Pinnock closed out the scoring just before the intermission with a nifty floater over the Hurricane defense.
On the night, Washington, a third-year freshman, paced Blinn with 14 points, followed by 11 points for the sophomore Carpenter. Raines and Ngoga, both sophomores, and Watson, a freshman, each had nine points, Tsynkevich and Connor Redrow — both freshmen — added eight, and Sanni finished with six.
Washington fell just short of a double-double with nine rebounds apiece, while Redrow also pulled down nine boards. Raines and Pinnock each dished out four assists.
In light of his team’s commanding lead throughout the contest, Schumacher was visibly fired up as he commandeered his team from the sidelines. The coach said that keeping his players fundamentally sound despite their swelling lead was key in their first action of the year.
“We learned some things about ourselves today, things that (Houston) did defensively that we have to learn to counter offensively to battle back,” Schumacher said. “But I liked what we did tonight, and we played well.”
Blinn continues its season with a non-conference tilt at McLennan Community College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
