BEEVILLE, Texas – Blinn College men’s basketball has had to pull out some dramatic victories on the road in conference and the Buccaneers were able to hit the big shots late in an 83-80 victory over Coastal Bend College Monday night in overtime.
The slim victory helps Blinn improve its overall record to 13-7 and 4-6 in Region XIV play.
LaKendric Hyson hit a shot with 13.5 seconds left in overtime to give Blinn an 81-80 lead that it would never relinquish. Hyson also led the Buccaneers in points with 25. James Harrison and Markques Houston each chipped in 13 points in the win.
“LaKendric played a great game tonight,” said Scott Schumacher, Blinn head coach. “We just kept scratching and crawling back into this game.”
Blinn got off to a sluggish start as Coastal Bend jumped out to a 21-10 lead early on. The Buccaneers recovered slightly but still trailed 41-35 at the break.
Blinn was facing a road loss in the second half as the Buccaneers trailed by seven points with 3:30 to go. Blinn fought back to tie the game at 75-75 with possession of the ball but was called for an offensive foul as time expired to force overtime.
Trailing 80-79 late in overtime, Hyson made a big shot to give the Buccaneers an 81-80 lead. Blinn was able to get a defensive stop and Hyson added a pair of free throws to give Blinn the three-point victory.
Blinn will hit the road again on Feb. 1 to face Angelina College at 7:30 p.m. for a conference game. Angelina sits in second place in the Region XIV South Zone standings with a 7-3 record through 10 games.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 34 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.