CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – After a 20-6 Houston Baptist run pulled the Huskies level at 74-74 with just 3:24 to play, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi answered with a thunderous 16-5 run to finish off HBU 90-79 Wednesday night on Stripes Court at the American Bank Center.
34 points and 12 rebounds. 34 points and 12 rebounds. That's been
Rashawn Thomas' stat line each of the past two times the Islanders (12-9, 5-5) and Houston Baptist (8-12, 4-6) have met in Corpus Christi. At the break, Thomas had just seven points and six rebounds.
In the second half, Thomas was 11-of-13 from the floor, pouring in 27 of his career-high matching 34 over the final 20 minutes. Perhaps the lone blemish on Thomas' third-straight double-double was an 8-of-16 performance at the charity stripe.
Not to be forgotten, redshirt freshman
Kareem South was red-hot, scoring a career-high 22 points. The guard was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, including a 30-foot buzzer beater at the half to give the Islanders a 40-39 edge at the break. South's four triples were a career best and his seven rebounds equaled his highest output on the boards.
RUNNING AWAY
Everything was going the Huskies way as HBU hit three straight triples to tie the game at 74-74.
The Islanders were unfazed, regrouping and using a 14-3 run over the final 2:36 to take the win. Thomas scored eight of those 14 points as the Islanders turned to the big man down the stretch.
Joseph Kilgore's slam with 14 seconds to play put the exclamation mark on the Blue and Green's third-straight victory.
SHARING THE BALL
The Islanders once again hit their magic number of four players in double figures. A&M-Corpus Christi is now 8-1 when four players score at least 10 points.
>>Along with Thomas and South,
Ehab Amin scored 14 and
Jake Kocher added 13.
>>The Islanders racked up 19 assists, 13 of which came in the second half.
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Ehab Amin set a career-high with seven assists and had just one turnover.
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Jake Kocher also set a career-high with six assists.
WELL-EARNED BREAK
Following three-straight wins, the Islanders will have the weekend off before returning to action next Wednesday night against Southeastern Louisiana in the American Bank Center.
