BRENHAM, Texas – Victor Dukes made a huge difference with his rebounding and scoring down low to help guide Blinn College men’s basketball to a 97-84 victory over Angelina College Saturday afternoon inside the P.E. Building.
The Buccaneers turned on the offense in the second half with 60 points to help stop a two-game conference losing streak and improve their overall record to 20-8 and 9-8 in Region XIV play. This victory gives Blinn its second straight 20-win season.
“I thought in the second half that we just played with more energy,” said Blinn coach Scott Schumacher. “That was a big win for us.”
Dukes was able to reach double figures in rebounding and led the team with 25 points off the bench for the Buccaneers.
“During warm ups coach told me he wanted me to dominate the rebounding,” Dukes said. “The second half we had some transition buckets and we not give up too many second chances.”
Morris Dunnigan was able to pour in 22 points while Corey Henderson and John Dewey each scored 16 points in the win.
Angelina was the team that came out strong in the first half by grabbing a 21-14 lead with 9:28 left in the half. Blinn compiled a 14-4 run to take a 28-25 lead with 5:34 left while Dukes scored eight points during that span.
Dukes scored 12 points in the first half and added a layup just before the halftime buzzer to give the Buccaneers a 37-35 lead at the break.
Blinn kept the momentum going in the second half with a 10-1 run that was fueled by six points from James Harrison to give the Buccaneers a 47-39 lead with 15:33 left. Blinn was relentless in the second half as a quartet of players scored in double figures as Dukes and Dunnigan scored 13 apiece, Henderson added 12 and Dewey chipped in 10 points in the second half.
After Dunnigan hit a layup to give Blinn an 84-71 lead, Angelina resorted to fouling in an attempt to get back into the game. The plan backfired as the Buccaneers hit 13-of-16 free throws in the final 2:23 to maintain their lead and cruise to the 13-point victory.
Blinn will head on its final road game of the season facing Lamar State College – Port Arthur on Wednesday, Feb. 24 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.
