Victory narrowly escaped the Blinn College men’s basketball team in a battle of unbeaten Region XIV teams Saturday in Athens, Texas.
Seventh-ranked Trinity Valley Community College fended off the spirited Buccaneers just long enough to earn an 81-73 victory.
Blinn fell to 11-3 overall and 3-1 in region play, while the Cardinals improved to 13-2 with a 4-0 league mark.
“It was a great game, and we competed and played really hard,” Bucs head coach Scott Schumacher said. “There were just some opportunities there for us that we did not capitalize on. The good news is the mistakes we made were in areas that we can get better in.”
Neither team gained much ground in the first half as the hosts carried a slim 35-33 edge into halftime. Following the intermission, the two teams continued to go back and forth, with the Cardinals’ late-game rally serving as the difference.
A pair of field goals from Blinn sophomore guard Nick Folk gave the visitors a 62-61 lead with 5:26 remaining, but Trinity Valley scored on a layup just 26 seconds later to ignite a game-sealing 20-11 run.
Offensively, the Bucs were led by sophomore guard Jadin Johnson’s 23 points. Sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard chipped in 13 points, freshman wing Anthony Isaac added 12, and Folk tallied nine.
Region play continues for Blinn when it hosts Tyler Junior College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 45 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
