Highlanders fall at Blinn

In a hard-fought, physical game dominated by fouls the McLennan Highlanders fell to the Blinn Buccaneers 89-86 tonight in Brenham.
 
Cameron Copeland set the tone for the Highlanders early on, scoring a nothing-but-net 3-pointer from the corner on the first possession. Rayquan Brown followed with a jumper to give McLennan the early 5-0 lead. Blinn quickly erased the advantage and the game remained close throughout the first half. The Highlanders led by just a handful of points a majority of the period and held the 49-42 lead at intermission. Copeland paced McLennan in the frame, scoring 18 points.
 
The Highlanders picked up the tempo to start the second half. McLennan took the first double-digit lead at 57-46 with 17:37 to play. The Highlanders extended the lead to 14 with 15 minutes left. B; inn rallied, tying the game at 84 with two minutes to go. The Buccaneers took the two-point lead on a Uriel Velis bucket and extended the lead to four on a pair of AJ Rainey free throws with 48.5 seconds to play. A Cameron Copeland basket pulled McLennan within two, 88-86. Tristan Ikpe added a free throw with 3.7 seconds remaining to put Blinn up by three. The Highlanders had a chance to send the game into overtime but Chris Pryor's 3-pointer from the top of the key bounced off the iron.
 
Cameron Copeland led the Highlanders with 27 points. Akili Vining and Chris Pryor scored 16 and 12, respectively.

McLennan: Akili Vining 5 4-4 14; Lorenzo Anderson 1 0-0 3; Cameron Copeland 10 3-4 27; Chris Pryor 4 3-3 10; Rayquan Brown 3 0-0 6; Tre Thomas 2 0-0 4; Claven Wilson 2 0-1 4; Asare Otchere 1 0-0 2; 1 0-0 2; Tyrese Taylor 2 0-0 4; Scott Ator 3 2-2 8; Totals: 33 12-14 86.
 
Blinn: Cardell McGee 3 10-13 18; AJ Rainey 6 6-8 18; Markus Vallien 4 1-2 12; Tristan Ikpe 6 9-15 21; Pedro Castro 3 0-0 6; Nic Tata 1 0-0 2; Calvin Carpenter 0 0-0 0; Jacob Paske 1 0-0 3; Uriel Velis 2 0-0 4; Ryan Pollard 1 3-4 5; Totals: 27 29-42 89.
 
3-pointers: McLennan 8 (Copeland 4, Vining 2, Anderson 1, Pryor 1), Blinn 6 (Vallien 3, McGee 2, Paske 1), Total fouls: McLennan 26, Blinn16; Fouled out: McLennan (Vining); Halftime score: McLennan 49, Blinn 42; Record: McLennan 4-3.