Buccaneers claim first victory of the season, 91-62

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Freshman guard Darrell Combs scored 17 points and first-year head coach Scott Schumacher picked up his first victory at Blinn College as the Buccaneers defeated Lone Star College-North Harris 91-62 here Monday night.

The Buccaneers led by 12 points at halftime and extended that lead to as many as 32 points in the second half as they shot 45 percent from the field  and out-rebounded North Harris 49-25.

"It feels really good," Schumacher said. "I didn't know I was going to have to wait until the third try, but it's better than the fourth try."

Blinn's defense held North Harris to 32 percent shooting, and the Bucs got four total players in double-digit scoring, including three forwards. Kendall Deveaux and Marquise Hines each scored 14 points and Rashaun Stimage added 11.

"We really hurt them on the glass," Schumacher said. "We got a lot of free throw opportunities from getting rebounds and getting fouled on the put-back and I thought we passed the basketball a lot better in transition than we had before. That led to some easy buckets.

The Buccaneers (1-2) were playing without starting point guard Donald Moore, who was out with a wrist injury. Without him, Najee Farr got the start at the point while Moore, a shooting guard, served as the backup point guard.

After three consecutive road games to open the season, the Buccaneers will play six straight at the Blinn P.E. Building, beginning with their home opener Friday when they host Lone Star College – Cy-Fair at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Bucs host the Houston Blaze for a 4 p.m. tip-off.