BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College men’s basketball learned that it is not about how you start a game but how you finish as the Buccaneers started fast but Navarro College was able to force overtime and nab the 91-85 victory in overtime Saturday evening inside the P.E. Building.
“We came out in the second half and I thought we played great but there were a couple of plays in the last minute of regulation that we didn’t execute,” said Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher.
The Buccaneers scored the first 17 points of the game but Navarro recovered to lower the Blinn overall record to 13-3 and 4-3 in Region XIV.
Morris Dunnigan had a big second half, scoring 22 of his 29 points in that half to lead the Buccaneers. John Dewey scored 10 of Blinn’s 11 points in overtime to finish with 21 points. Corey Henderson added 13 points and Victor Dukes chipped in 11.
Everything went right for Blinn to open the game as the Buccaneers started by scoring the first 17 points of the game. Navarro stormed back after the slow start and went on a 23-4 run to take a 23-21 lead for the first time in the game.
Henderson was hitting from the outside and scored 11 points in the half but it was Navarro leading 38-32 at the break.
Blinn chipped away at the lead in the second half and knotted the game at 57-57 with 9:36 left. From there, the Buccaneers went on a 9-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from Dunnigan for a 66-59 lead with seven minutes left.
Turnovers and missed opportunities hurt Blinn down the stretch as Navarro tied the game at 74-74 with 18.7 seconds left and the Buccaneers were unable to score in their final possession of regulation.
Navarro scored the first five points of overtime and proved to be tough to stop in the extra period. Dewey was the only Blinn player going offensively with 10 points as Navarro was able to hold on for the six-point victory.
Blinn will be back at home Wednesday, Jan. 13 against Lee College at 7:30 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 32 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
