Grounding Georgia State

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Playing at home in the postseason for just the second time in program history, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rolled past Georgia State 80-64 in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament as the Islanders never trailed Wednesday night inside the Dugan Wellness Center.
 
The Islanders raced to a 17-6 lead in the opening eight minutes behind nine points from senior Rashawn Thomas. The forward ended the night with 31 points on 9-of-14 shooting and a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. The three triples were a career high for Thomas who fell just three points shy of his all-time high.
 
Along with Thomas, Ehab Amin returned to form with 19 points. Amin added six assists and three steals to go along with the big offensive night. Joseph Kilgore made it a trio of Islanders in double figures as he threw in 14 including six on a trio of thunderous dunks.
 
"Playing in the postseason for a fourth straight year, being in this building just feels like hand in glove," said head coach Willis Wilson. "I think our guys were really comfortable and really confident playing in this building. Playing in the postseason is tough on everybody. The travel is tough, the games and matchups are tough, but I thought our guys did a nice job of being ready. They really absorbed the scouting report yesterday and today and just came out today and played."
 
By the nine-minute mark, the Islanders lead had ballooned to 14 at 24-10. Georgia State slowly chipped away, pulling within seven with five minutes to play in the half, but another Islanders run sent the Blue and Green to the locker room with a 36-22 advantage.
 
The second half proved to be all Islanders as Corpus Christi used an early run to build the lead to 21 on one of Kilgore's electric jams. Twice the lead grew to 24 before Georgia State closed the game with some late window dressing for the 80-64 final.
 

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH JOE!!!! ???????? #GoDers #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/fpFzkFejMX

— Islanders MBB (@IslandersMBB) March 16, 2017

THOMAS ON TOP
 
From the get-go, it was clear Thomas was locked in as the big man scored nine of the Islanders first 17 points. He finished with 31 added nine boards and dished out five assists for good measure.
 
On the defensive end, Thomas racked up two rejections and a steal to complete the effort.
 
AMIN CLOSING ON MILESTONE
 
With his 19 points Wednesday night, Ehab Amin pulled to 993 in his career. The junior knocked down eight shots from the field and added a pair at the charity stripe. He also extended his steals record with a trio on the night. The three thefts put Amin with the second highest single-season total in Southland Conference history.
 
UP NEXT?
 
The Islanders advance to the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and await their next opponent over the weekend. Second round games are slated to play any time between Friday and Monday.
 
Stay tuned to www.GoIslanders.com for more information on the second round.