BRENHAM, Texas — Blinn College men’s basketball (11-5, 1-5) rallied for 50 points in the second half of a thrilling conference game against No. 16 Trinity Valley Community College, but fell just short of upsetting the Cardinals on Wednesday night in the Kruse Center. The Cardinals walked off the court with a 77-74 victory. 

“We came out in the second half and made a furious comeback,” said Scott Schumacher, Blinn head coach. “We showed a lot of grit and determination, and I am very proud of how our guys fought and kept playing for 40 minutes.” 

Five Buccaneers scored double-digit points despite the loss. AJ Rainey led the Buccaneers with 16 points, Kai Teasefollowed with 15, Tristan Ikpe scored 14, JaQuan Morris tallied 13 and Uriel Velisscored 11.  

Blinn fell behind 44-24 at the half and trailed 53-30 in the second half before mounting a comeback. The Buccaneers fought their way to a 74-73 lead, but the Cardinals scored the final four points for the victory. A missed three-point shot by the Buccaneers with 2.2 seconds left ended the game just short of overtime.

Blinn heads on the road to face Kilgore College in a conference game on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 4 p.m.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 38 NJCAA national championships since 1987. 

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