Islanders edged at home by Sam Houston State, 70-69

Story Headlines
- The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi men's basketball program dropped a tight matchup to Southland-leading Sam Houston State on Wednesday evening, faltering to the Bearkats by a final 70-69 margin on the Corpus Christi Athletic Club Court at the American Bank Center.
- The Islanders fall to 10-14 overall and 5-6 in Southland Conference action while SHSU improves to 17-8 overall and 12-0 in league play.
- Junior Jashawn Talton posted a career-high 18 points in the loss as the forward nearly pulled down a double-double, grabbing a team-best eight rebounds with one assist, one block and one steal. Senior Emmanuel Toney joined Talton as the only other Islander in double-figures, dropping 12 points with four assists and two rebounds.
- Three fellow teammates nearly cracked the double-digit barrier, as juniors Kareem South and Tony Lewis picked up nine and eight points, respectively, while sophomore Tre Gray dropped eight as well. The former also managed to dish out a team-best seven assists, a career-high.

Key Islander Statistics
- Texas A&M-Corpus Christi shot 51.7 percent (27-for-52) from the field for the game, going 12-of-25 in the first half (48.0 percent) and 15-of-27 in the second half (55.6 percent).
- The Islanders drilled 9-of-17 beyond the arc for the game (52.9 percent) and while earning just 6-of-9 at the charity stripe (66.7 percent).
- A&M-Corpus Christi slightly edged the Bearkats on the boards, grabbing 29 to the their 27.
- The Islanders outworked SHSU in the paint, notching 28 to the Bearkats' 24, and also managed to own a 6-0 point advantage on fast breaks.
- Initially, A&M-Corpus Christi entered the half up by one (29-to-28) following a tremendous athletic play from Gray, but a staunch response from Sam Houston State in the second allowed the Bearkats to edge the Islanders on the final box score (42-to-40)
- Junior Kyle Brown picked up his third consecutive start at point guard, knocking down five points with one assist and one steal across 19 minutes of action.

Islander Notables
Wednesday marked South's 81st career start ... Toney has now scored in double figures eight times this season.

Up Next
- With the three-game home stand concluded, the Islanders turn their attention to a pair of road matchups, initially facing New Orleans on Saturday, Feb. 16 before traveling to Nacogdoches, Texas, to battle Stephen F. Austin next Wednesday, Feb. 20.

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