Box Score 
HAMMOND, La. – Rashawn Thomas had a season-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team to a 70-61 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Monday at the University Center. John Jordan added 18 points, four assists and three steals as the Islanders improved to 11-8 overall and 6-1 in Southland action.
Those two were the only two scorers to finish in double figures, as both Brandon Pye (2-for-10) and Bryce Douvier (2-for-7) had tough games from the floor. Douvier led the Islanders with eight rebounds in a strong performance on the defensive glass. Thomas had a career-best effort from the line, going 10-for-13 at the stripe.
Onochie Ochie had 15 points and eight boards in a losing effort for the Lions (5-14, 2-4 Southland), while Daniel Grieves (14) and Zay Jackson (13) also finished in double figures for Southeastern Louisiana, which won the battle of the boards, 40-35.
A&M-Corpus Christi came out cold from the floor, missing their first four shots, but rebounded with back-to-back threes from Pye and Douvier to take a 6-2 lead. The teams traded points over the next several minutes to a 12-7 score in favor of the visitors, but Southeastern came right back with an 8-0 run to take a 15-12 lead after a Zay Jackson layup at the 9:05 mark.
Jordan snapped the run with a jumper in the lane, but the Islanders continued to struggle on the offensive end. The Lions used that to put together an 11-2 run, the only two points for the Islanders on Emmanuel Toney free throws. Jackson converted a three and hit a pair of free throws to cap off the rally and give the home team a 26-16 lead. In all, the run amounted to 19-4, and the Islanders went just 1-for-13 from the floor during the stretch.
But a Cole Martinez three got the offense off the schneid, and the Islanders hit their final five shots of the half to close the stanza with a 15-6 run. Brandon Pye delivered a four-point play in the rally and Jordan capped it off with a triple just before the buzzer to make it a one-point Lions lead, 32-31, entering the locker room.
The Islanders continued their rally after the half, with Douvier and Thomas scoring the first four points and putting the Islanders up three. After a Cedric Jenkins jumper, Thomas converted a three-point play and followed with another jumper to put the visitors up 40-34. Fillmore added a deuce, then a Dale Francis trey put the lead at seven – the highest to that point in the game. In all, the run was 27-10 around halftime.
After the Islanders pushed it to 45-38, the Lions went on a 12-3 run to vault into the lead, the final three points on an Ochie three-point play that made it 50-48. But Jordan responded with a three-point play of his own that sent the Islanders on a 9-0 run that made it 57-50. Thomas and Jordan combined for all nine points in the rally.
The Lions continued to pressure the Islanders, though, cutting the lead to as little as five, but that was as close as the home squad would get, as the visitors put on the finishing touch with a baseball pass from Thomas to Jelani Currie that the junior flushed to push the lead to nine. A&M-Corpus Christi eventually pushed the lead to as much as 10, but held on for the 70-61 victory.
The Islanders will return to the hardwood on Saturday, when they visit Nacogdoches, Texas, for a matchup with conference leader Stephen F. Austin. It will be a battle for first place between the 7-0 Lumberjacks and 6-1 Islanders. The men's game is tentatively slated for a 6 p.m. tipoff, and will immediately follow the women's team's matchup with the Ladyjacks, with the women's game scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m.
Yannis Koutroupis will have the call of the game live on NewsRadio 1360 KKTX and updates will be provided throughout the game on Twitter (@IslandersMBB).
