CHAMPAIGN,
Ill. – In their home-opening win over Texas A&M-Kingsville
on Friday, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team
used a big run to take control en route to a 19-point win. On
Sunday, the Islanders fell victim to a decisive run as Illinois
used a 23-2 burst to close out the first half and pulled way for a
72-53 win.
The
loss evens the Islander record at 1-1, while the Fightin' Illini
moved to 2-0. It was the opening game of the South Padre
Invitational.
The
Islanders started fast jumping out to a 10-5 lead less than six
minutes into the when Horace Bond
scored on a back-door cut following a pair of three-point baskets
by Kevin Palmer, who tied for a team-high with 10 points.
The Illini
would turn up the pressure defensively while the Islanders went
cold closing out the first half with a 23-2 run. After hitting
2-of-3 from behind the three-point line to start the half, the
Islanders missed their last eight three attempts of the half.
The 12 points in the first half were the fewest-ever
by A&M-Corpus Christi in a half. The previous mark was 18 in
December of 2001 against Texas-El Paso.
"We had a game
plan to come out and execute some things against their different
sets and – to their credit – Illinois did a good job of
guarding our sets," said Islander coach Perry Clark. "We couldn't
do anything to get the ball inside.
"We just never
got going offensively. Defensively, I thought we played hard and
did a good job in the first half. We just couldn't get going
offensively."
Illinois picked
up the intensity in other areas including the boards in the final
14 minutes. A&M-Corpus Christi dominated early in getting the
lead taking an 8-1 advantage on the boards, but were out-rebounded
21-8.
Offensively,
Trent Meacham scored 11 of his 14 points in the first period
including a trio of treys, while Demetri McCamey added seven of his
13.
In the second
half, the Islanders continued to battle and after Meacham opened
the final 20 minutes by converting a three-point play,
A&M-Corpus Christi chipped away to pull as close as 13 on a
bucket by Watt. With 12:19 remaining, LaMarr Drake looked to
convert a three-point play, but missed the free throw. Watt grabbed
the miss and converted the put-back attempt to make it a 43-30
contest.
After four
straight points by Illinois, Watt connected from behind the
three-point line to make it a 14-point game with just under 11
minutes to go.
Following a
quick spurt by the Illini that pushed the lead back to 20 for the
hosts, Filip Toncinic tried to ignite his team. The Croatian hit a
three-point basket and then after stealing the ball scored in the
paint to make it a 13-point game with under four minutes left, but
the Islanders were unable to get closer. Toncinic scored a
career-best 10.
Aside from 10
points by Palmer and Toncinic, Justin Reynolds added eight and Watt
seven. Watt grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
Mike Davis
scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half to lead the Illini in
scoring and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead all players
The Islanders
stay in the Land of Lincoln for a second clash with a Big 10 school
when they visit Northwestern on Wednesday. The game is slated for a
7 p.m. tip.
