Islanders Fall to Experienced Bearkats Squad

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Islanders fell to Sam Houston State 82-50 this Wednesday, despite solid performances from senior guard Joe Kilgore and sophomore forward Elijah Schmidt at the Corpus Christi Athletic Club Court inside American Bank Center. Kilgore showed consistency throughout the game with his jumper, often times with opponents at his feet and going physical to the basket to help lift his young teammates. 

"Well at some point what happens with young teams, is you just stop believing in the process and think you can make plays and things escalate," Coach Willis Wilson said. "And I think that's what happened to us tonight."

The Bearkats ran out to a hot start against the hosting Islanders, hitting 50% of their shots through the first half of the two teams' matchup. Kilgore led the offense on the Blue and Green side for the opening 20 with 12 points, while Schmidt managed seven with three boards coming off the bench. The rest of the Corpus Christi side would be held in check for the majority of the first half however, as SHSU's high-percentage field goal opportunities earned a 42-23 lead heading into the halftime break.

While the Islander defense managed to slow down the visitors' attack in the second half, the Bearkats managed to get off 31 shots in the latter 20 minutes, dropping another 40 to close out the game. Kilgore poured in another 10 points in the second to end his night with a game-high of 22, while Schmidt came within a single point of tying a career-high at 10 overall.

• Freshman guard Tre Gray tallied all seven of his points in the second half of the night's game, as the Islanders bench accrued an impressive 23 points on the night
• With eight boards Schmidt came within two rebounds of recording his first career double-double
• Kilgore's 22 marks the sixth time he's broken the 20-point barrier this season, coming within three of a personal career-best

KEY MOMENT/PERFORMERS
 
Sophomore Elijah Schmidt came off the bench fighting in the paint for rebounds with a total of eight, six of which were defensive rebounds. Tre Gray, the young true freshman, came off the bench with seven points, hitting a three to close out the game while making two-of-three from the line. True freshman Deion Rhea made his first career appearance and recorded four boards on the night.
 

UP NEXT
 
The Islanders travel to Louisiana to face the University of New Orleans on Saturday, January 10 at 4:15 p.m. It will be the first time the two meet since the 2016 Southland Championship.

Fans of the Blue and Green can follow their team on the road via radio feed provided by the Islander Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.