JACKSONVILLE, Texas – Blinn College men's basketball has a knack for overtime games on the road in conference as the Buccaneers beat Jacksonville College 65-64 Tuesday night for their third overtime road win of the season.
"I am proud of my players for this win because they just decided that they didn't allow themselves to lose this one," said Scott Schumacher, Blinn head coach.
The win breaks a two-game losing streak as Blinn improves to 17-12 overall and 7-11 in Region XIV play.
Juwan Green played the hero in the closing seconds of overtime as he scored six of his 10 total points in the overtime period, including the eventual game-winner with 14 seconds left. Jaylen Rhone was substituted in for the last defensive position and shut down Jacksonville's best player in the closing seconds to seal the win.
LaKendric Hyson led the Buccaneers in scoring with 16 points while Antione Lister chipped in 14 points and James Harrison finished with nine.
The game was close throughout as Blinn and Jacksonville were tied 28-28 at the half. Jacksonville would crawl out to slight leads of 38-37 with 13:35 left and 46-44 with 5:32 left in the game.
Blinn was able to tie the game up at 54-54 with 28 seconds left and forced overtime by not allowing Jacksonville to score on its final possession.
The overtime period didn't start out so well for Blinn as Jacksonville came out hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 60-54 lead. Blinn slowly chipped away at the lead and then Green hit his shot, that was allowed on a goaltending call on Jacksonville, to give Blinn a 65-64 lead with 14 seconds left. The Buccaneers didn't allow Jacksonville to score on its final possession to earn the victory.
Blinn will finish the regular season at home on Saturday, March 4 against Lee College at 4 p.m. Lee is currently 12-6 through 18 games in Region XIV play and beat Blinn 65-63 on Feb. 8 in Baytown.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 34 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.
