CORPUS CHRISTI - Horace
Bond
drained a three-pointer from the top of the key with 29 seconds
left to break a 57-57 tie and lift the Texas A&M - Corpus
Christi men's basketball team to a 62-59 win over Southeastern
Louisiana (7-7, 1-1 Southland) on Saturday afternoon. Demond
Watt had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh
double-double of the season for the Islanders (6-11, 1-2).
After Bond's three, Southeastern got a layup from David Ndoumba
with 10 seconds to play, but Hollis
Hill, who played just 1.9 seconds in the game, hit both of his
free throws with 8.1 seconds to play to make it 62-59. Brandon
Fortenberry's desperation three from the left elbow fell short at
the buzzer to give the Islanders their first conference win of the
season.
Justin
Reynolds had 11 rebounds and nine points, while Chris
Mast added 10 points for his second straight game in double
figures. Trent Hutchin led all scorers with 18 points in the loss,
while Ndoumba added 15 points and eight boards.
The Islanders jumped out to a 4-0 early lead with Bond and Garland
Judkins putting the home team on top. Southeastern then stormed
back, taking a 5-4 lead, but Chris
Mast and Judkins buried three pointers making the home team's
advantage three at 10-7.
After several minutes of back-and-forth action, Justin
Reynolds' jumper from the elbow put Texas A&M - Corpus
Christi up 22-16. Antonio
Topps continued the hot shooting, hitting a three in the corner
to give the Islanders a 25-16 advantage, their largest lead of the
half. Trent Hutchin helped the Lions claw back into the game with a
long three pointer making the score 30-26 Islanders at half.
SLU came out of the half on a 5-0 run to take a one point lead
before Watt converted a three-point play, giving the Islanders back
the edge at 33-31. For the next four possessions the teams traded
the lead or were tied. Terence
Jones broke the deadlock at the 10:22 mark with a three,
following a block on defense by Watt. After a three by the Lions
tied the game back up, Watt pushed the home team back out in front
by scoring the next five points for a 51-46 lead.
Chris
Mast gave the Islanders their biggest of the second half,
hitting two free throws, making the score 55-48 with 4:44 left.
Southeastern, though, stepped up the defense to post a 9-2 run to
tie the game at 57 with just over a minute left, with Fortenberry
hitting the tying three pointer to set up Bond's heroics.
The Islanders outrebounded the Lions 31-23 in the game and shot
53.5 percent from the floor for the contest. The Lions went
8-for-16 from behind the three-point line.
Next up for the Islanders will be a road context Wednesday night
at UT-Arlington at 7 p.m.
