NACOGDOCHES – Chris Daniels put up 24 points to lead
the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders remained unbeaten with a
70-62 win over Stephen F. Austin for their 10th-straight
win.
A&M-Corpus
Christi improved to 16-4 over all and have a 7-0 Southland
Conference mark, giving it a two-game lead over the rest of the
league.
Daniels was
unmatched inside, hitting 10-of-12 shots from the field with nine
rebounds and a block.
Eighteen of his 24 came in the first half, propelling the Islanders
to a 32-29 halftime lead.
The Islanders had 16 assists on the night, 11 of which came from
Taurean Mitchell, tying a school-record for assists in a game.
The Islanders
played catch up for most of the first half, trailing by as many six
midway through the first frame. Josh Ervin scored the game's first
points on a running layup, but the Lumberjacks used a 12-4 run
capped off on a 15-footer by Shelby Lewis to give Stephen F. Austin
a 12-6 lead with 13:09 to play in the first.
A&M-Corpus
Christi would trail until Daniels converted a layup with 4:11 to go
giving the Islanders a 27-26 advantage. The lead was short-lived as Josh
Alexander, who scored a team-high 16 points, drained a 3-pointer to
regain the lead for SFA.
The Islanders scored the final three points of the first half, two
coming from Daniels at the free-throw line before Kevin Menifee
tipped in his own shot at the buzzer.
The Lumberjacks
came out hot in the second half, out-scored A&M-Corpus Christi
11-4 in the first three minutes of the half regained the lead at
40-36. During that run, SFA
scored nine-straight points before Josh Washington hit his only
3-pointer of the night with 16:26 to play bringing the Islanders
within one.
Stephen F. Austin
went cold the final 13:36 to play, scoring just 17 points,
including a six minute stretch where they didn't score a single
point. The Islanders took
advantage, out-scoring the ‘Jacks 20-3 to take a commanding
59-48 lead with 5:14 to go.
Three-straight
3-pointers by SFA pulled the Lumberjacks within seven with 53
seconds to go, but A&M-Corpus Christi was a perfect 8-of-8 from
the line with under a minute to play.
For the game, the
Islanders shot 59.5 percent that included 57.1 from behind the
arc.
A&M-Corpus
Christi will finally return home Saturday night when it hosts Sam
Houston State in the American Bank Center at 7 p.m.
