BRENHAM, Texas — MEN
The Blinn College men’s basketball team (15-8, 5-7) was slightly edged out by Angelina College, 79-74, on Saturday.
“I am very proud of our guys for giving themselves a chance to win on the road against the top team in the South and one of the top teams in the league,” said Scott Schumacher, Blinn head coach. “The game just came down to Angelina making a couple more shots than we did, but we are going to be okay coming down the stretch.”
Tristan Ikpe led Blinn’s offense with 23 points, while Pedro Castro led the defense with 10 rebounds. Azariah Seay scored 17 points, AJ Rainey totaled 13 points, and Nic Tata scored 10 points and totaled seven rebounds.
Angelina, the Region XV South Zone Division leader, came into the game on a seven-game winning streak.
In a competitive first half, Angelina pushed ahead by five points to lead 42-37 at halftime. Blinn evened the score 48-48 with 14:50 minutes left in the second half, however Angelina scored the next four points to take back the lead. Blinn and Angelina continued to go back and forth until the Roadrunners went ahead 77-74 with less than a minute remaining. Blinn missed a 3-pointer and Angelina scored the final two points at the free throw line for the win.
Next, the Buccaneers will return home to the Kruse Center to play Lamar State College-Port Arthur on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m.
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WOMEN
The Blinn College women’s basketball team (18-4, 7-3) extended its winning streak to five games by defeating Panola College, 64-59, on Saturday afternoon in the Kruse Center.
“This was a great team win against a very good ball club that has been playing tremendous basketball the last three weeks,” head coach Jeff Jenkins said.
Jessica Soders led Blinn’s offense with a team-high 14 points, while Mia Cherry and Kristine Ezimako each scored 11 points.
Blinn pulled away from Panola early to take an 18-11 lead in the opening quarter and kept the seven-point advantage (32-25) at the break.
The Buccaneers outscored Panola 14-10 in the third quarter to stay on top, 46-35. Panola rallied for 24 points in the final quarter, but Cherry made seven free-throws in the final minute to ensure the win for Blinn.
Next, the Buccaneers will compete against Kilgore College on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 5:30 p.m. on the road.
