Three-Ball Trips Up Islanders

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Shot clock running down, hands in face, it did not matter to Cal Poly as the Mustangs buried 14 three-pointers to topple Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 82-70 Saturday night in the Mott Athletics Center.
 
Cal Poly (5-4) had the shooting night of its life. The Mustangs hit on 62-percent of their shots in the opening 20 minutes, including an 8-of-14 bombardment from beyond the arc to build a 44-23 lead at the half. Kyle Toth hit four from downtown to score a dozen in the massive first half.
 
The Mustangs did not slow down either. The barrage from beyond the arc carried all the way through the second as Cal Poly knocked down 14 from downtown as the Mustangs handed the Islanders their first loss of the season.
 
Victor Joseph came off the bench to hit 4-of-9 from downtown to lead Cal Poly with 19 points. Toth finished with 17 points, all from behind the three-point line save a pair of free throws.

Cal Poly's hot shooting spoiled a 24-point night from Rashawn Thomas. The forward hit on 8-of-15 from the field and added another eight points at the free throw line. Ehab Amin added 18 points before fouling out with a minute to play.
 
Trailing by 21 at the half, the Islanders (5-1) came out on a tear in the second, quickly trimming the lead down to six points. The Blue and Green would get within two scores twice, but Cal Poly had the answer all night.
 
The Islanders pulled to 53-47 with 12:51 on the clock thanks to a three-ball from Amin, but a timeout from Cal Poly was followed with a pair of offensive rebounds for the Mustangs that turned into five points.
 
Three minutes later, Cole Martinez connected from the corner to whittle the deficit down to 58-52. The triple was three of 10 points on the night for Martinez who was one of three Islanders in double figures.
 
This time, Cal Poly iced the game away with a 16-2 run over the next four minutes. The run was full of momentum plays as the Mustangs buried four threes and added a pair of easy dunks to pull away.
 
AGGIES MONDAY
 
The Islanders face a short turnaround before challenging Texas A&M in Reed Arena Monday night in College Station. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip and will be streamed on the SEC Network and WatchESPN.