CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi logged its second straight Southland Conference win this Saturday in leg two of an Islanders' basketball doubleheader at Corpus Christi Athletic Club Court inside American Bank Center. Starting guard Joe Kilgore claimed the first triple-double in program history against the visiting HBU Huskies, on the way to scoring 24 points in a 79-69 overtime thriller.
After getting out to an 11-10 lead in the first five minutes, Corpus Christi threw its weight around for the remainder of the half, rolling out a 14-3 run and finishing the opening 20 minutes with a 41-22 lead. Kilgore recorded 7-of-11 from the field in the opening 20 minutes for 16 points and seven assists, while teammate
Elijah Schmidt pulled down an impressive 10 boards in the opening frame.
The Islanders presence in the post would be the tail of the first half, as the Blue and Green outrebounded the visiting Huskies 20-12 on the way to scoring 18 points in the paint. Visiting Houston Baptist would get back into the contest during the second however, slimming Corpus Christi's lead to just seven in the first six minutes. The Huskies would hit seven of their first 10 shots at the beginning of the second half, before knotting things at 67 apiece in the final minute of regulation.
With the Islanders and Huskies headed to overtime, it would be the extra minutes of Saturday's game where Kilgore would shine brightest, scoring eight free throws and pulling down six rebounds to finish the night with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. The overtime period would belong purely to Corpus Christi as the Islanders defense held HBU without a single field goal and outscoring the visitors by a count of 12-2.
"It feels great. It was one of my goals coming into this season just trying to get that triple-double because I knew it would the first in school history." said Kilgore, after his impressive performance.
"I want to shout out my coaches and my teammates for putting me in a position to get it done."
"Joe made a commitment before the game that he was going to be on the glass and get us eight rebounds. He did that and then some, obviously." said Head Coach
Willis Wilson in a postgame interview.Â
"I think it's a testament just to his toughness and his determination."
The Blue and Green would finish the night with a 79-69 advantage in their second overtime contest of the season, and their third win in Southland Conference competition.
- Overshadowed by Kilgore's history making performance, starting guard Kareem South registered a career-high 23 points against the Huskies this Saturday
- Starting forward Elijah Schmidt would put up a career performance as well, tallying a personal best 12 points, and recording his first-ever double-double with 10 points
- The Islanders finished the night shooting 49.2%. Coach Wilson's side is 5-1 when shooting better than 47% this year
- South also tied a career-high in steals with four, earning that personal best earlier this year against SEC opponent Georgia
COMING UP NEXT
The Islanders get back on the road with a return trip to Louisiana, facing Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond this coming Wednesday. Corpus Christi beat the Lions in a closely held 80-75 contest the previous season and look to improve its winning streak against the Lions to seven-straight.
Wednesday's game, along with all Corpus Christi road games will be broadcast live via radio on the Islanders Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.
Â
