During a timeout with less than 10 minutes to play in the first half, Scott Schumacher urged his team to stay the course and promised a run was coming.
He was right, and once the Buccaneers started running, they never stopped.
Ahead 11 prior to its head coach's guarantee, Blinn went on an offensive surge to end the half and that momentum paved the way to a 108-58 victory over Strength N Motion on Tuesday at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
"We stayed positive and knew the cream would rise to the top, and I thought our guys played really well," Schumacher said.
When Blinn (9-5) entered Schumacher's huddle with 9:23 to go before the intermission, they led 28-17. Upon returning to the floor, sophomore guard Elijah Elliott appeared to take Schumacher's words to heart as he ignited a 26-12 burst with a layup and a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions.
Freshman guard Masiah Gilyard's dunk gave the Bucs their first 20-point cushion at 39-19, and the push continued with seven straight Blinn points — a 3 from Elliott and layups from Gilyard and sophomore guard Damian Watson that sent the hosts into the break with a 54-29 advantage.
(Pictured: Blinn College's Elijah Elliott, center, puts up a shot during a game against Strength N Motion on Dec. 13)
"Tonight's win took everyone locking in, focusing, and coming together to gang up and get the win," said Elliott. "It's amazing seeing everyone coming off the bench ready to play, and I'm happy to see guys hit the floor, contribute, and have fun."
The fun spread team wide for Blinn as all 14 Bucs who suited up for Tuesday's tilt scored at least one point.
"This is a really special group, I enjoy being around them every day, and I love it when they all get to play," Schumacher added. "For everybody to get in the game and get meaningful minutes was very satisfying from a coach's standpoint."
Blinn continued to pour it on in the second half, starting with a 3 from sophomore guard Marco Foster. Gilyard and sophomore forward Alex Tsynkevich added back-to-back layups moments later as the Bucs' lead grew to 61-31 with 17:41 to go.
A trey from Gilyard made it 85-45 at the 9:20 mark, and a jumper from freshman guard Zaveon Little put 100 on the scoreboard for Blinn.
(Pictured: Blinn College's Masiah Gilyard, center, soars to the basket during a game against Strength N Motion on Dec. 13)
"It feels good to finish off the first half of the season right," Gilyard said. "It's good to go into the break with a win. Everyone got to contribute, which sends everybody on the team home happy."
Gilyard scored 12 points in the second half to finish with a team-high 16. Elliott and Tsynkevich tallied 15 points apiece, Foster had 13, Watson added 12, and sophomore guards Maurice Pinnock and Jaja Sanni posted nine and eight, respectively.
Following the holiday break, Blinn will resume play with a Region XIV road trip to Tyler Junior College at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 4, in Tyler, Texas.
