BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College men's basketball took a little while to shake the rust off to pull out a 94-86 victory over Concordia University JV Monday night inside the P.E. Building.
Concordia held one-point lead at the 8:37 mark of the second half but that is when Morris Dunnigan stepped up to pour in 16 points in the final 20 minutes to lead the Buccaneers with 26 points and help the team improve to 9-1 overall and 1-1 in Region XIV.
"I really liked the pace of this pace because that is how we practice with intensity," Dunnigan said.
Link Kabadyundi used his size down low to score 17 points for Blinn while Corey Henderson added 14 points and Victor Dukes chipped in with 12 points.
"We had to fight through adversity in this one and it was a close game throughout but we were able to win," said Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher. "I thought Concordia competed and shot the ball really well."
Blinn had a rough start with Concordia jumping out to a 7-2 lead but the Buccaneers would recover. Dunnigan was solid in the first half as well with 10 points as he hit a jumper with 6:30 left to give the Buccaneers a 30-26 lead.
Blinn closed out the first half strong as Henderson and Kabadyundi each scored seven points to guide the Buccaneers to a 45-37 lead at the break.
Concordia came out strong in the second half and took advantage of defensive lapses and even held a 66-65 lead with 8:37 left in the game. That is when Dunnigan was able to up his intensity and help the Buccaneers pull away. Aside from Dunnigan's 16 points in the half, Kabadyundi also tossed in 10 points.
John Dewey scored all eight points in the second half as Blinn was able to control the lead in the final minutes and hold on for the victory.
Blinn will get back into conference play on Saturday, Dec. 5 at home against Paris Junior College at 4 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.
About Blinn College
With an enrollment of 19,422 students, Blinn ranks among the nation's leaders in transferring students to leading four-year universities and has received national recognition for affordable educational excellence. For more information, visit www.blinn.edu.
