CONWAY, Ark. -
The four-man senior class for the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
men's basketball team finished their careers on a two-game winning
streak as the Islanders knocked off Central Arkansas, 76-69 on
Saturday at the Farris Center. Demond
Watt scored 20 points in his final collegiate game.
Terence
Jones scored 12 points to go with five rebounds and five
assists in the win, and Chris
Mast added 10 points. The contest was the final collegiate game
for seniors Justin
Reynolds (six points, seven boards, five blocks), Horace
Bond (four points, eight rebounds) and Antonio
Topps (nine points, four assists). Tadre Sheppard scored 16 in
a losing effort for the Bears.
The Islanders posted a 30-8 run around halftime to turn a
14-point deficit into a seven-point lead. During the rally, the
Islanders held the Bears without a field goal over a span of 14:52,
as UCA went 0-for-18 during the skid. The Islanders shot 51 percent
from the field in the game, the third straight game that the team
has topped 50 percent shooting.
The Bears jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead behind triples by TK
Smith and Imad Qahwash. After UCA pushed it to a 13-6 advantage,
the Islanders used an 8-2 run to close the deficit to 15-14 on a
pair of treys by Jones. Again, though, the Bears responded, putting
up a 13-4 rally of their own to repossess a 28-18 lead to force an
Islanders timeout at the 9:04 mark.
The run continued to a 32-18 Bears lead until a Reynolds dunk
snapped the string. After two Qahwash free throws, the Islanders
put up a 7-0 run featuring two buckets from Watt and another Jones
trey to make it 34-27. The Islanders added a 9-2 run to tie the
score at 36-36, but Jacquan McClinton hit a free throw with five
seconds left to send the game to the break with UCA leading 37-36.
The Islanders defense held the Bears without a field goal over the
last 7:41, forcing seven turnovers and holding them to 0-for-8
shooting.
Halftime did not cool the visitors, as the Islanders put up a
9-1 run out of the locker room to gain their first lead of the game
and push it to a 45-38 advantage. Topps had a three and Reynolds
and Watt both threw down thunderous dunks in the run. After the
Bears finally delivered a field goal, the Islanders continued to
push the lead to a game-high 13 at 55-42 as a Jawan
Nelson trey capped off the run.
UCA was able to respond with a 14-8 run after Ryan Williams hit
three straight buckets to trim the home squad's deficit to just
seven at 63-56. The hot shooting continued for the Bears, as they
used their pressure defense to score the next five points and trim
it to 63-61. But the Islanders were able to put up a 6-0 run with
Watt hitting two free throws and a Garland
Judkins slam and a Mast layin providing the offense.
The Bears refused to fade, though, continuing to play strong
defense and convert their opportunities to trim it to a 72-69 game
with 27 seconds to play. Free throws by Jones and Watt pushed it to
a 74-69 lead, and after Williams' attempted three rimmed out, the
Islanders capped it with two free throws by Mast to finish off the
contest.
With back-to-back wins to close the season, the Islanders finish
the 2010-11 campaign with an overall record of 10-21 and a
conference mark of 5-11.
