A strong finish to an up-and-down night of basketball was not enough to save the Blinn College Buccaneers in a tough 65-62 Region XIV loss to Tyler Junior College on Wednesday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
Turnovers and inconsistent free throw shooting put Blinn in an early deficit, and the hosts faced a 50-33 hole just five minutes into the second half. From there, the Buccaneers came to life to the tune of a 29-15 game-ending run, but the rally came up short in the final seconds of play. With a potential game-tying 3-point attempt still in the air, the Bucs were called for an out-of-bounds violation, effectively ending Blinn’s comeback.
“Tyler played a very good game and did a great job of running their offense,” Bucs head coach Scott Schumacher said. “I thought they took control of the game in the first half but I thought we did a nice job of making a run at them in the second. Our guys had a chance to come back at the end, but we didn’t do enough throughout the rest of the game to put ourselves in a position to win.”
The Apaches held a 42-32 halftime lead.
For the game, Blinn went 25 of 35 from the free throw line, while Tyler converted 23 of 34 attempts. Tyler had 19 turnovers while the Bucs finished with 18.
“We were razor sharp as a team right before the Christmas break, and now we’re trying hard to get back to that level,” Schumacher added. “But with that said, Tyler has good players and good coaches, and they deserved to win this game.”
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard (10) puts up a shot during a game against Tyler Junior College on Jan. 10, 2024)
Sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard had a team-high 17 points for Blinn. Sophomore guard Patrick Neal Jr. had 12 points, freshman wing Anthony Isaac finished with 11, and freshman guard Reese Miller tallied 10.
The Bucs get back to work with a road trip to region foe and 19th-ranked Panola College at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, in Carthage, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
