Islanders face Demons in Louisiana on Wednesday

NATCHITOCHES, La. - The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi men's basketball team will head to Natchitoches, La., to take on Northwestern State University on Wednesday, Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. Fans can also listen to the audio broadcast live on KEYS 1440 AM or watch the webstream on NSUDemons.com.

Islanders at Northwestern State (6-9, 1-1)
Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019  -  6:30 p.m.
Prather Coliseum - Natchitoches, La.
15th Meeting (Islanders leads 9-5)  |  Game Notes
Radio: KEYS 1440 AM
Webstream: NSUDemons.com
Live Stats: HERE

HISTORY WITH NORTHWESTERN STATE (ISLANDERS LEAD 9-5)
- This will be the 15th meeting between in a series that dates back to 2007.
- All time, the Islanders are 5-3 in Corpus Christi and 3-2 in games in Natchitoches. The teams met once on a neutral floor in Katy, Texas, with A&M-Corpus Christi winning 81-78, back on March 11, 2007.
- The Islanders have won five-straight meetings between the two programs dating back to the 2013-14 season.
- Prior to that, the Demons had won four-straight contests.
- The two teams met just once last season, a 67-65 A&M-Corpus Christi victory at home back on Jan. 3, 2018.
- Iziahiah Sweeney had 26 points and Ishmael Lane added 20 for the Demons.
- Tre Gray scored 10 points for the Islanders in 15 minutes and Kareem South added nine.

DEMON (6-9, 1-1) NOTABLES
- Northwestern State is 1-1 in conference, falling to Nicholls in the opener and rebounding with a 66-61 win over McNeese on Jan. 5.
- This is the fifth and final game of a homestand for the Demons that started back on Dec. 18. For the year, NSU is 5-2 at home, 0-7 away and 1-0 on a neutral floor.
-  Lane is averaging 15.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in the first two conference games of the season. He has also blocked four shots and recorded three steals.
- Against McNeese last Saturday, Lane had 17 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals in 31 minutes of action, shooting 6-for-8 from the field.
- Brian White has scored 10 points in each of the last two games while coming off the bench.

ISLANDERS LAST TIME OUT
- The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fell to Lamar University, 61-55, on Saturday at the Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas.
- The Islanders forced 19 Lamar turnovers and outscored the Cardinals, 23-21, off turnovers.
- The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi bench outscored Lamar's, 21-14.
- The game featured 11 lead changes and was tied five times.
- Tre Gray scored a team-high 14 points with three long-range makes. he had two assists, a steal and a rebound in 23 minutes.
- Kareem South scored in double-figures for the ninth time this season, finishing with 13 points. He had two steals, two rebounds and an assist while going 4-for-5 from the free throw line.
- Emmanuel Toney had a team-high six rebounds including two on the offensive end. He also led the team with three assists and added eight point.

SOUTHLAND PLAY ADJUSTMENTS
- Since beginning conference play, the Islanders have done a nice job keeping possession of the ball. On the season, A&M-Corpus Christi has a +1.6 turnover margin but in the past two games, that number has risen to +4.5.
- The team's scoring average has also risen to 71.0 from the season average of 67.7.

SCHMIDT ENDS DECEMBER STRONG, STARTS JANUARY STRONGER
- Junior Elijah Schmidt put together five impressive games to end 2018 and begin the 2019 calendar year.
- In his past five outings, the Spring, Texas, native is averaging 11.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.
- He has also been ultra-efficient from the field, shooting 67 percent (24-of-36).
- 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 five of the team's last six games, going over 20 points on three occasions.
- He is averaging 17.1 points, 6.2 reb. and 2.5 steals over his last six games.
- He has led the team in scoring in four of the last six games and has the team-high in rebounds in two of the last four games.

UP NEXT
- A&M-Corpus Christi will head to Sam Houston State University on Wednesday, Jan. 16, for a 6:30 p.m. Southland contest against the Bearkats in Huntsville, Texas. The game will be broadcasted live on KEYS 1440 AM and a webstream can be found on ESPN3.

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).