The Blinn College men's basketball team rallied in the second half to secure a 79-74 Region XIV South Zone victory over Lamar State College-Port Arthur on Wednesday in Port Arthur, Texas.

The Buccaneers, winners of six consecutive games, dug their way out of a 34-32 halftime hole to top the Seahawks for the second time this season. They improved to 20-7 overall with a 13-3 South mark. Blinn is in second place in the South with three regular-season games remaining.

"Any time you win on the road in this league it's a big win," Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher said. "We've won 20 games., and we've played a difficult schedule that has helped us. With an older group of players, I thought it was important that we challenge them, and they've responded."

Responding was the theme of the second half for Blinn, which outscored Port Arthur 47-40 after the break.

"I thought our guys came out in the second half and really stepped it up a bit and played with more urgency," added Shumacher.

Sophomore guard Marco Foster led the way with a barrage of 3-pointers and paced the Bucs with 22 points. Sophomore guard Elijah Elliott had 16 points and freshman guard Masiah Gilyard added 15. Sophomore guard Azari Woods came off the bench with fellow sophomore and starting guard Damian Watson in foul trouble and gave his team a boost with six points and a key block. 

"Azari came in and gave us a huge lift with Damian on the bench," Schumacher said. "He played extremely well off the bench."

Sophomore forward Alex Tsynkevich and freshman forward Jamine Charles chipped in seven and six points, respectively. 

Up next, Blinn will host South Zone leader and 10th-ranked Lee College in a big region matchup at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.