Islanders Fall in Exhibition

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Joseph Kilgore dropped 35 points, but a shorthanded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fell 82-80 in overtime to Texas A&M-Kingsville at Corpus Christi Athletic Club Court at the American Bank Center.
 
Kilgore's 35 points mark the most the senior has ever scored in the Blue and Green as he finished 12-of-20 from the field. Outside of Kilgore, the Islanders struggled to find a secondary scorer in the absence of Ehab Amin.
 
Freshman Myles Smith scored 10 points in his debut to finish as the only other Islander in double figures.
 
"We learned a lot of things," said head coach Willis Wilson. "When we do what we do, we're very good. When we don't do what we do, we're not very good at all. We had some key situations tonight where we had a chance to put things away and build a lead, but we got away from how we put ourselves in good situations.
 
"It starts with consistency day in and day out," continued Wilson. "We have to have a little more buy-in to our system. For some guys it's just making a commitment to submit to something bigger than themselves and for others it's simply learning the system better."
 
Trey Sumpter led Texas A&M-Kingsville with 23 points on the night, including a game-tying three with five seconds remaining in regulation. The triple followed one of the missed opportunities to close out the game coach Wilson referenced, as the Islanders came away empty-handed on a trip to the charity stripe with a three-point edge.
 
KILGORE'S BIG NIGHT
 
With Amin sidelined, the Islanders rode Kilgore early and often to a career-best 35 points. Kilgore played a game-high 40 minutes in the loss.
 
"Joe showed us what he's capable of doing on any given night," said Wilson. "He's a terrific basketball player and he's very capable of leading and carrying this team. He's probably going to have to get in a little better shape because he's going to have to play a lot of minutes. He's going to have to find a way to play in the ebbs and flows of the game so he's ready when we need him down the stretch."
 
THE NUMBERS
 
>> Sophomore Elijah Schmidt led the Islanders with a game-high 12 rebounds.
>> Kareem South finished with eight points while Kyle Brown added seven.
>> Freshman forward Sean Rhea scored five points in his debut before fouling out.
 
 
SEASON OPENER ON THE ISLAND
 
Corpus Christi returns to action on Friday, November 10, against Our Lady of the Lake in the regular season opener. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Dugan Wellness Center.