Smith Sinks Saints

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – It felt oh so familiar. Just as the last game Texas A&M-Corpus Christi played in the Dugan Wellness Center, Friday night's season opener presented by Aspen Heights came down to the final buzzer. On this night, the script was flipped as freshman Myles Smith drew the friendly roll off the iron for a 69-68 victory over Our Lady of the Lake.
 
Down one with 4.2 seconds to play, Smith took the inbounds pass and raced the distance to toss up a floater. As the clock hit zero and the red light illuminated on the backboard, the shot found back iron, then front iron and narrowly escaped a touch from Sean Rhea before tickling the twine for a season-opening victory.
 
"Well there was plenty of time," said head coach Willis Wilson. "When we took the timeout it was showing 3.6 seconds, but I knew they were going to add time. Four seconds is plenty of time to get a good shot.
 
"I thought they [OLLU] did what they should have," Wilson continued. "They covered up Kareem and covered up Joe – but the shot that Myles got was a pull up jumper at the free throw line.  We preach that shot. If we can get a 15-footer like that at any time, we're going to take it – no better time than the last shot of the game."
 
WILSON WINS 100
 
Friday night's season-opening victory marked a milestone for coach Wilson. The Islanders' head man picked up his 100th victory as the play caller for the Blue and Green.
 
In his illustrious career, the victory marked number 318 for Wilson.
 
THE GAME
 
A defensive struggle for most of the night, the Islanders shot just 22-of-61 from the floor, but hit when it counted. For their part, the Islanders locked down defensively to limit a Saints squad that came in averaging 97.5 points per game to just 68 on 34-percent from the field.
 
As tough as points were to come by, there was little separation throughout as the Islanders largest lead hit eight points early in the second half. The biggest deficit the Blue and Green faced was just six points, coming at 8:16 in the first half.
 
A 7-0 run to open the second half turned a 29-28 deficit into a six-point edge for Corpus Christi. The run would continue, setting out a 12-3 start to the half to build a 40-32 advantage.
 
A 10-2 run from the Saints would draw the game even and the seesaw affair would continue to the final minute. After a pair of split free throws for the Islanders, OLLU's Courtney Julien hit a three from the top of the arc to give him 26 points on the night and the Saints a 1-point lead.
 
4.2 seconds later, Smith's floater rattled home as the freshman played hero on opening night.
 
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
 
Kareem South led four Islanders in double figures with 16 points in the victory. The redshirt sophomore also pulled down seven boards as the Islanders dominated the rebounding battle 48-33.
 
A major part of the spread on the glass, Elijah Schmidt commandeered a career-high 17 rebounds. The sophomore reeled in nine offensive boards and finished with seven points.
 
Joseph Kilgore and Smith each added 11 points, four assists and four rebounds while York Benjamin rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10. Benjamin did the bulk of his damage at the charity stripe, going 6-for-6 at the line on a night the Islanders shot just 71-percent as a team.
 
LOOK AHEAD
 
The Islanders now travel to Baylor for a 7 p.m. tip on Monday night against the 24th-ranked Bears. Monday's tilt will be carried on Fox College Sports.
 
The Islanders return to Corpus Christi to face UTRGV in the South Texas Showdown presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union on Wednesday night at the Corpus Christi Athletic Club Court at the American Bank Center. Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on the Islanders Digital Network powered by AEP Texas.