BRENHAM, Texas – Blinn College men's basketball is getting better at dealing with overcoming adversity as the Buccaneers came away with a 97-92 victory over Jacksonville College Saturday evening inside the P.E. Building.
The Buccaneers trailed 67-57 with 9:30 left in regulation but were able to crawl back to force overtime and then get the win that improves their overall record to 18-6 and 8-6 in Region XIV play.
"I thought we hung our heads a little bit when we got down 10 in the second half," said Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher. "I give my guys credit for fighting back."
Morris Dunnigan had a huge night offensively as the sophomore showed his knack for leadership and dropped in 34 points in the win.
"With me being the captain I just felt like I needed to step up," Dunnigan said.
John Dewey scored seven of his 17 points in the overtime period while Corey Henderson and Victor Dukes each scored 10 points.
Neither team could create much separation in the first half. Dunnigan was keeping Blinn in the game in the first 20 minutes by scoring 23 points but it was Jacksonville holding on to a 46-44 lead at the break.
The second half was not turning out how the Buccaneers would have liked as they hit a scoring lull while Jacksonville built up a 67-57 lead with 9:30 left in the game.
Blinn was able to get back in the game with a 10-1 run that was capped by a bucket in the post from Dukes to get within 68-67 with 5:17 left. With the score tied at 77-77 with 1:41 left, Dunnigan gave the Buccaneers a two-point lead with a layup and then extended that lead to 81-78 with two free throws with 42.2 left.
Ike Agusi was able to nail a contested 3-pointer for Jacksonville with 26.6 left in the game that would eventually force overtime.
Dewey came up with the big shot in overtime. With the score tied 87-87 with 1:37 left, Dewey pulled up and nailed a 3-pointer and then Dunnigan followed suit for a 93-87 lead with less than a minute remaining.
Jacksonville got the game within one point but Dewey hit all four of his free throws in the final 8.3 seconds to secure the five-point victory.
Blinn will hit the road Wednesday, Feb. 10 to face Lee College at 7 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.
