Islanders open road swing at Lamar on Saturday

BEAUMONT, Texas - The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi men's basketball team will head to Beaumont, Texas, to take on Lamar University on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 4:30 p.m. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN3. Fans can also listen to the audio broadcast live on the Islanders Digital Network, powered by AEP Texas.

Islanders at Lamar (7-7, 0-1)
Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019  -  4:30 p.m.
Montagne Center - Beaumont, Texas
20th Meeting (Lamar leads 10-9)  |  Game Notes
Radio: Islanders Digital Network
Webstream: ESPN3
Live Stats: HERE

HISTORY WITH LAMAR (Islanders trail 10-9)
- This will be the 20th meeting between in a series that dates back to 2001.
- The Cardinals won both matchups last year winning, 77-72, in Corpus Christi on Dec. 30 and in Beaumont, 79-76, on Feb. 17.
- Surprisingly, the Islanders are 6-4 in games in Beaumont and 3-6 in Corpus Christi. The two teams have never met on a neutral court.
- Lamar got two double-doubles in the first meeting last year in December from Colton Weisbrod (26p/14r) and Josh Nzeakor (17p/11r). Nick Garth added 19 points and four assists.
- A&M-Corpus Christi's Kareem South scored 23 points in the second meeting but the Islanders fell, 70-76. Lamar's Garth had 22 points in the comeback victory.
- The two teams will meet again in Corpus Christi on Saturday, Feb. 23, at 3:30 p.m.

LAMAR CARDINAL (7-7) NOTABLES
- Lamar fell in the Southland opener to Houston Baptist, 88-82, on Wednesday in Houston.
- Prior to that loss, the Cardinals had won three straight games.
- Lamar is a perfect 6-0 at home this year but just 1-7 away from the Montagne Center.
- Nzeakor leads the team in points (16.1) and rebounds (7.9) and is shooting 63.4 percent from the field. He has three double-doubles this year and has scored in double figures in each of his last six games.
- Garth averages 15.5 points and has knocked down a team-high 38 three pointers.
- T.J. Atwood averages 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and leads the team with eight blocked shots.
- Jordan Hunter averages a team-high 4.1 assists to go along with 10.4 points per contest.

ISLANDERS LAST TIME OUT
- The Islanders opened Southland play with an 87-75 victory over Central Arkansas at the American Bank Center on Wednesday, Jan. 2.
- Four Texas A&M-Corpus Christi players scored in double figures led by Kareem South (22), Emmanuel Toney (13), Jashawn Talton (12) and Elijah Schmidt (11).
- Schmidt also recorded his first double-double of the year, leading the team with 13 rebounds including four on the offensive end. He had two steals, a block and an assist.
- The Islanders outrebounded UCA, 43-29, and shot 23 more free throws..
- South hit 7-of-15 shot attempts and did not miss at the free throw line, going 6-for-6. He added seven rebounds, including four offensive rebounds, and had a game-high three steals defensively.
- Toney shot 3-for-5 from the field and went 6-for-10 at the charity stripe. He had a team-high six assists, four rebounds and two steals.
- Talton went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and hit a pair of field goals. He finished with eight rebounds including two on the offensive end.

SCHMIDT ENDS DECEMBER STRONG, STARTS JANUARY STRONGER
- Junior Elijah Schmidt put together four impressive games to end 2018 and begin the 2019 calendar year.
- In his past four outings, the Spring, Texas, native is averaging 12.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
- He has also been ultra-efficient from the field, shooting 67 percent (20-of-30).
- Schmidt recorded his second career double-double with 13 rebounds and 11 points in the conference opener against Central Arkansas on Jan. 2

SOUTH HEATS UP
- Schmidt's classmate, Kareem South, also enjoyed a strong end to his December.
- South scored in double-figures in four of the team's last five games, going over 20 points on three occasions.
- He is averaging 18.0 points, 7.0 reb., 2.6 stls. and 1.8 asts. over his last five games.
- He has led the team in scoring in four of the last five games and has the team-high in rebounds in two of the last three games.

WINNING TRENDS
- In the Islanders six victories this season, the team has gotten a balanced scoring attack from Kareem South (15.7), Myles Smith (12.6), Emmanuel Toney (10.7) and Tony Lewis (8.3).
- During those six wins, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has outrebounded opponents 257-186 (42.8-31.0) and maintained a +6.0 turnover margin (10.2-16.2).

UP NEXT
- A&M-Corpus Christi will continue its three-game Southland road trip at Northwestern State on Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 6:30 p.m., in Natchitoches, La. The game will be broadcasted live on KEYS 1440 AM.

For all the latest on Islanders Men's Basketball, be sure to follow the team on Twitter (@IslandersMBB), Instagram (@IslandersMBB) and like the team's official Facebook page (IslandersMBB).