A game of 3-pointers and flashy runs was decided at the free throw line Friday, as the Blinn College men's basketball team outlasted Dallas College-North Lake with a quartet of timely buckets at the charity stripe.
Four free throws in the final 18 seconds of play propelled the host Buccaneers to an 87-84 victory over the Blazers on opening day of the Blue Bell Classic at the Kruse Center in Brenham, Texas.
Ahead just 83-81 in the final seconds, Blinn (4-0) got a pair of technical free throws from sophomore guard Nick Folk and single charity buckets from sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard and freshman forward Dresean Knight. Those key makes helped offset a North Lake 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer and kept the Bucs unbeaten this season.
"I thought it was a really strong, physical game, Blinn head coach Scott Schumacher said. "We got a 16-point lead on them, but they fought back just like we knew they would. I thought our guys showed a lot of toughness in a game where they really had to play hard to win."
(Pictured: Blinn freshman guard Sky Mosley drives to the basket for a layup against Dallas College-North Lake on Nov. 11, 2023)
The two teams combined for 21 3-pointers, including 14 in the first half. A majority of those long-distance shots went the way of the Blazers, who used two triples in the first 2 minutes of play to grab an 8-0 lead.
Blinn began fighting back, however, as a 16-9 run pulled it within 17-16 just before the midway point of the opening half.
The Bucs trailed by eight with less than 9 minutes left in the first half before a layup from freshman wing Anthony Isaac completed a 9-1 Blinn push and forced the first tie of the game at 33-all.
Freshman guard Sky Mosley gave the Bucs their first lead of the game with a pair of free throws at the 5:30 mark, and following a North Lake trey, Gilyard scored on a layup through contact to give Blinn the lead for good and ignite a 12-3 run.
The Bucs went into halftime leading 47-39.
"Anybody who got into the game tonight played hard and helped us keep up the momentum," Gilyard said. "When everyone's time came, they stepped up, where it was on a layup, a 3, or at the free throw line."
(Pictured: Blinn sophomore guard Masiah Gilyard shoots a free throw during a game against Dallas College-North Lake on Nov. 11, 2023)
Blinn looked poised to pull away in the second half as its advantage grew to 64-48 with 11:43 left to play. North Lake responded with a 10-0 push to pull within six, and after the Bucs countered with a 7-0 burst that made it 71-58, the Blazers turned up the heat with a 19-7 move to cut Blinn's lead to just 78-77 at the 2:24 mark.
By that point, the contest had become a war of attrition at the charity stripe, as both Blinn and North Lake attempted 14 shots from the line in the final seven minutes of play.
The Bucs sank 10 of those free opportunities, including the four makes from Folk, Gilyard, and Knight, to seal the victory.
"We work on free throws every day in practice," Gilyard said. "It's a big moment for the game, but it wasn't as big for us because we prepare for those situations, and we were ready."
Folk had a team-high 20 points for Blinn, Mosley followed with 15, Gilyard had 13, and freshman guard Reese Miller tallied 12. Mosley accounted for three of the Bucs' six 3-pointers, Miller had two, and Folk hit one.
Next up for the Bucs is a tilt with Dallas College-Cedar Valley on day two of the Blue Bell Classic at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 44?NJCAA national championships since 1987.
