BRENHAM, Texas – Outside shooting for Blinn College men's basketball opened up the entire offense as the Buccaneers beat Jacksonville College 92-75 Saturday night inside the P.E. Building.
"Before the game, we felt like if Antione Lister an Markques Houston are making 3-pointers tonight then we are going to be OK," said Scott Schumacher, Blinn head coach. "There was a point in the second half when Jacksonville got within six and we dug in and expanded our lead."
With the win, Blinn improves to 14-8 overall and 5-7 in Region XIV play.
Houston put together an impressive first half as he scored 16 of his team-high 20 points in the first 11 minutes of the game.
"I felt off during warm-ups but then I hit my first 3-pointer and knew everything would be good the rest of the way," Houston said.
LaKendric Hyson was able to hustle his way to 19 points while Lister chipped in 14 points. Juwan Green and James Harrison each scored 13 points in the win.
"We have a strong inside presence on this team so when we throw it down to them it opens everything up for the shooters," Lister said. "Coach always tells us to be aggressive and shoot the ball when we are open."
Blinn didn't start off the game the way it would have liked as Jacksonville jumped out to a 23-11 lead in the first six minutes. With the help of Houston hitting 3-pointers and opening the offense, Blinn was able to charge back.
Houston scored all of his 16 first half points in the first 11 minutes as the Buccaneers went on a 15-2 run to get out to a 34-30 lead with 6:12 left in the half. Hyson scored 10 points in the first half and put back a layup after an offensive rebound with 16.4 seconds left to give the Buccaneers a 47-41 lead at the break.
After a couple of sluggish minutes to begin the second half, Blinn was able to pick up the pace and stretch its lead to 81-61 after a basket by Jaylen Rhone with 6:07 left. Green was huge in the second half with 11 points while Hyson scored nine and Lister added eight.
Jacksonville went on a 9-2 run to get within 83-70 of Blinn but the Buccaneers were able to regroup and hold on for the 17-point victory.
Blinn will hit the road on Wednesday, Feb. 8 to face Lee College at 7 p.m. Lee is currently 6-5 through 11 games of Region XIV action.
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.
