CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – On opening night, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fell one point shy of the school record, running past Our Lady of the Lake 115-100 in an affair featuring two teams racing up and down Stripes Court at the American Bank Center.
 
Six Islanders scored in double figures as the Blue and Green accomplished the feat for the first time since January 2014. Senior Rashawn Thomas led the way with 20 points while pulling down 12 boards to open his year with a double-double. Jake Kocher chipped in a career-high 19 points while Ehab Amin, Joseph Kilgore, Kareem South and Cole Martinez all scored at least a dozen.
 
Amin ended the night with 18 points, 10 of which came in the second half. The point guard capped a 24-7 start to the second half as A&M-Corpus Christi built its largest cushion of the night. The second-half run featured nine of Martinez's 12 points on the night as the sharpshooter buried three shots from beyond the arc.
 
The Islanders (1-0) led by as many as 35 points, hitting the century mark with a 100-65 lead at the 8:42 mark in the second half. Down the stretch, turnovers allowed the Saints (0-1) to close the gap and eventually reach the 100-point mark.
 
"I thought for the most part in 30 minutes of basketball with our regulars we looked really, really good," said head coach Willis Wilson. "I really liked the energy that those guys bring to the table, how hard they play, how unselfish they are and their ability to share the ball and move it around. When you look at the veterans, you have Rashawn Thomas with a double-double and six guys in double figures. They really did what you expect from them."
 
As awing as the opening half hour of the game was, the Islanders found plenty of learning experiences down the stretch as Our Lady of the Lake closed the gap to just 15 at the final buzzer. In the final eight minutes, the Blue and Green turned the ball over eight times and scored just 15 points.
 
"The last 10 minutes of the game we really got loose," said Wilson. "We gave a lot back and left a lot on the table. I'll be honest with you, I wasn't happy with it and I'm not satisfied with that. For us to be a championship program, we have to be able to play to our identity."
 
ALL OUT ASSAULT
 
The Islanders topped the 100-point mark for the second time to open the season including last Saturday's exhibition win over Concordia. 11 different Islanders scored as the Blue and Green came a single point shy of the program record of 116 points.
 
• Friday was the first time the Islanders have scored more than 110 points since tying the school record on November 21, 2005.
• Redshirt freshman Kareem South finished with 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 at the charity stripe.
• Kilgore ended his night with 13 points and a career-best six assists to lead the team.
• The Islanders shot 56-percent from the floor in each half, finishing the night 37-of-66 and 7-of-17 from downtown.
• At 34-of-45 from the charity stripe, the Islanders were just five makes shy of the program record set back in 2001.
 
KOCHER'S CAREER NIGHT
 
Sixth-year senior Jake Kocher opened his final campaign with a bang, racking up 19 points to set a new career high. Kocher's previous best was a 15-point effort against Southeastern Louisiana in 2014. The veteran did it on a nearly perfect 8-of-9 shooting from the floor and added a pair at the free throw line. He also had a pair of steals and a block to energize the Islanders in his 19 minutes on the court.
 
"That's kind of the hallmark of Islanders basketball: guys playing with energy," said Wilson. "Energy is the operative word. We have to play with energy and a little bit of reckless abandon. Jake is one of those guys that when he's out there, his foot's on the gas and he doesn't let up. He plays with a lot of reason and a lot of purpose.
 
"He's willing to take some calculated risks within the confines of our system and I think it's very contagious when a guy like Jake is on the floor," Wilson continued. "He fosters an environment where other guys are willing to take the same kind of risks."

FRESHMAN GAIN EXPERIENCE

Five of the Islanders' six true freshman saw playing time in the season opener. Elijah Schmidt earned the start in his first outing in blue and green, finishing with four points and four boards in 12 minutes. Perry Francois led all freshman with five points off the bench in just five minutes while Alex Holcombe also impressed with four points and a trio of rebounds Friday night.

Local product Colin Hale scored his first point on a free throw while Jamell Bradley grabbed three rebounds as the two newcomers play six and five minutes, respectively.
 
SOUTH TEXAS SHOWDOWN UP NEXT
 
The Islanders now have four days to prepare for the trip to UT Rio Grande Valley for the South Texas Showdown presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union next Wednesday night.