Islanders Win Tournament Opener over IUPUI

SAN ANTONIO – A strong defensive effort resulted in a 65-59 victory for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program over IUPUI on a neutral court Tuesday at the Convocation Center, hosted by UTSA.
 
The game was tied 27-27 at the intermission when A&M-Corpus Christi (2-1) held IUPUI (0-4) to an 8-for-29 (.276) percentage in the second half, compared to 11-for-23 (.478) for the Islanders. A&M-Corpus Christi limited the Jaguars to an 18-for-47 (.383) shooting clip in the game and forced 25 turnovers.
 
On the offensive end, junior Isaac Mushila led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds. Senior De'Lazarus Keys was also in double-figures with 11 points and four rebounds. Senior San Antonio Brinson ended with nine points and five rebounds.
 
The Islanders dominated inside and posted a 32-14 scoring advantage in points in the paint. They also got out in transition and carried a 17-6 edge in fast breaks.
 
IUPUI was paced by B.J. Maxwell's 14 points and five rebounds. Nathan McClure finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Islanders were ahead 7-3 early after a jumper by Keys, but the Jaguars responded with a 9-0 run to take a 12-7 lead at the 14:13 mark. A&M-Corpus Christi was playing catch-up for most of the first half but stayed within striking distance the whole way and trailed 16-15 after a lay-up by senior Simeon Fryer.
 
After IUPUI went back up 27-22, the Islanders ended the half on a 5-0 run to tie it. It included a three-pointer by junior Trevian Tennyson and a lay-up by Mushila with 30 seconds left.
 
A 5-0 run turned into a 12-0 spurt after A&M-Corpus Christi scored the first seven points of the second half to go up 34-27 with 16:17 remaining and never trailed the rest of the way. A jumper by Brinson made it 41-33 with 11:23 to go.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi's largest lead 50-39 came after a lay-up by junior Tyrese Nickelson at the 8:53 mark. Though after that, the Jaguars slowly started to creep back in it and knocked down long-range shots to get the deficit to 51-48 with 6:49 mark.
 
However, IUPUI never got any closer after that. Keys answered with back-to-back lay-ups to provide a 55-48 cushion, and the lead went back up to 61-51 with 3:24 remaining after a pair of free throws by senior Myles Smith.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi made enough free throws down the stretch to thwart a final IUPUI comeback attempt.
 
The Islanders will have a very quick turnaround as they play again at 1 p.m. Wednesday against Denver at the Convocation Center. The game will not be live streamed but can be heard on 1440 AM K-E-Y-S with Steven King on the call.
 
NOTES
- Tuesday was the first-ever meeting between A&M-Corpus Christi and IUPUI.
 
- The Islanders notched their first neutral court win since March 10, 2017 when they beat Stephen F. Austin in the semifinals of the SLC Tournament.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi's ability to force turnovers played a large role in keeping the score tied in the first half. Despite shooting 9-for-32 (.281) from the field, the Islanders carried a 16-7 edge in the turnover battle and put up 14 more field goal attempts and six more free throw attempts.
 
- The Islanders have outscored the opposition in points in the paint and in fast break points in all three games this year.
 
- Mushila's 16 points doubled his previous season-high. He came off the bench to shoot 6-of-9 from the field.
 
- Keys submitted his fifth career double-figure scoring game and second this year. His 11 points were a season-high, topping the 10 points he netted in the season-opener against Texas Lutheran.
 
- Tennyson scored seven points off the bench and continues to lead the team in scoring with 11.3 points per game on the year.
 
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