Box Score CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team put forth its best performance during Southland Conference play thus far and cruised to a 97-76 victory over visiting New Orleans Saturday night at the American Bank Center.
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"It was a hard fought game," Head Coach Willis Wilson said. "New Orleans was relentless and did not go away. I thought there were just a couple of things that we did really well tonight. One of those was one-plus passing, making the extra pass and finding the open man."
That passing led to the Islanders' (15-3, 6-0) best three-point shooting game of the year, going a combined 13-for-23 (56.5%) from beyond the arc. A&M-Corpus Christi was an electric 7-of-11 from long distance in the second half.
Senior sharpshooter Brandon Pye led the way from deep, per usual, knocking down 6-of-11 from three-point range. The Mansfield, Texas native finished with 20 points and added three assists in the victory. Pye is now third all-time in Islanders history with 151 career threes.
After leading 43-36 at halftime, the Islanders allowed New Orleans (5-12, 1-5) to get within two points, at 49-47, before kicking it into another gear. Two threes from Pye ignited a 9-1 run by the Blue and Green to increase their lead back to double digits, 63-51.
The Islanders cruised for the final 12 minutes, extending their lead to as many as 24 points, before finishing with the 97-76 victory.
"I thought the defense was pretty good," Wilson said. "We had a lot of guys who were active with their hands, active with their feet. We knew coming in that we were going to have our hands full on the glass, but all-in-all it was just a good win."
THOMAS LEADS WITH 24 POINTS
Junior Rashawn Thomas, who highlighted the night with a pair of alley oop dunks – including one off the backboard from Ehab Amin – led the Islanders with 24 points and eight rebounds. The team's leading scorer went 10-of-14 from the floor and added two blocks, three steals and three assists.
AMIN ON FIRE AGAIN, SCORES 18
• For the second straight game, Ehab Amin was on fire off the bench, finishing the night with 18 points.
• The sophomore, who put up a career high 26 Tuesday, was 7-of-12 from the floor and scored 16 in the second half alone.
• Amin also picked up a career high six steals in the victory.
INSIDE THE ISLANDERS
• The Islanders recorded a season-best 23 assists on the night.
• Their 97 points were the most by the Blue and Green all season.
• Eight straight victories is the longest win streak in the Willis Wilson era and the longest since the 2006-07 season.
UP NEXT
A&M-Corpus Christi will stay at home and host Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday. The Islanders and the Lions are set to tip-off at 8 p.m. at the American Bank Center with nationally televised coverage on CBS Sports Network.
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