BRENHAM, Texas — The Blinn College men's basketball team (8-1, 1-0) opened Region XIV play with a 108-97 win over Paris Junior College Saturday in the Kruse Center.

"I thought our guys came out from the tip and played tremendous," said Scott Schumacher, Blinn head coach. "In the Region XIV games it is never over until the buzzer sounds, and Paris kept fighting until the end, so I was proud of our guys for hanging in there to get a conference win."

AJ Rainey led the Buccaneers with 22 points, Nic Tata followed with 18, Azariah Seay scored 16, Cardell McGee chipped in 15, and Pedro Castro was next with 13.

"We knew this was a big game and had to come out and play hard, so it is nice to start conference play with a win," McGee said. "We were prepared for this game and all connected on the court. We want to keep the train going and keep moving forward."

Five three-pointers in the first five minutes of play allowed the Buccaneers to take a 19-4 lead. McGee scored the first three, while Rainey and Castro scored the next two. Blinn continued to hold onto the momentum with a 12-3 run for a 37-15 lead. By the end of the first half, the Buccaneers had totaled nine shots from downtown and held a 55-33 lead at the break.

In the second half, Paris made up ground to narrow in on Blinn 69-52. Rainey jumped in with a three-pointer and Seay scored eight straight points for the Buccaneers to remain on top 88-72. Paris continued to fight and pulled within four points of Blinn, 93-89. Rainey scored the next three points to take back the momentum with less than four minutes to go. Blinn was able to hold onto the lead for the remainder of the game for the 11-point win.

Next, the Blinn men's basketball team will play the Houston Gladiators in a non-conference game on Monday, November 25, at 7 p.m.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 41 NJCAA national championships since 1987.