Whew.
The Angelina College Roadrunners could breathe a collective sigh of relief following Wednesday’s win over Blinn College. AC raced out to a 24-point lead in the game’s first 13 minutes, then had to hold on late to hold off the Buccaneers 69-62 at Shands Gymnasium.
The Roadrunners could do little wrong in the opening minutes, winning seemingly every 50/50 ball and out-rebounding the bigger Bucs front line. The lead grew to 26 points at 52-26 with 17 minutes to play in the game.
Then the Bucs got hot and the Roadrunners cooled off. With 51 seconds to play, Binn’s A.J. Rainey converted a bucket to cut the AC lead to 64-62. The ‘Runners held fast, however, with Chris Simmons and Hunter Janacek teaming up for five consecutive free throws to close out the big conference victory.
Kevin Norman led AC with 24 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Janack finished with 13 points, and the Roadrunner bench outscored the Bucs 23-13. Rainey led Blinn (19-7, 6-7) with 17 points, followed by Tristan Ipke with 14 points. The Roadrunners (12-13, 5-8) play at Coastal Bend Community College on Saturday. Game time is 4 p.m.
The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
