Islanders Face Roadrunners for UTSA Tournament Title Sunday

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SAN ANTONIO – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program will look to win one more game in the Convocation Center when it squares off with the host institution UTSA at 3 p.m. Sunday.
 
Both A&M-Corpus Christi (3-1) and UTSA (3-2) defeated IUPUI and Denver to sit 2-0 in the tournament. The Islanders beat IUPUI 65-59 and Denver 69-67, while the Roadrunners topped the Jaguars 60-57 and the Pioneers 78-64.
 
The Islanders are coming off a last-second victory 69-67 over Denver. Freshman Jalen Jackson drove in for the game-winning lay-up with 1.5 seconds left. Jackson tallied a season-high 19 points to lead all scorers.
 
The day prior, A&M-Corpus Christi posted a 32-14 edge in points in the paint to beat IUPUI 65-59. It was the program's first neutral court win since March 10, 2017 when it beat Stephen F. Austin in the semifinals of the SLC Tournament. The Islanders are 2-0 on in neutral court games this year.
 
The Islanders rank second in the Southland Conference in offensive rebounding. Junior Isaac Mushila averages a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game, while senior San Antonio Brinson pulls down a team-best 2.8 offensive rebounds per outing.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi has used a balanced scoring attack thus far. Mushila and junior Trevian Tennyson average 11.0 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Five different Islanders average at least 8.3 points per game.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi has used the same starting lineup in all four games this season with Jackson, senior Myles Smith, senior Simeon Fryer, Brinson and senior De'Lazarus Keys.
 
The Roadrunners are coming off a come-from-behind victory over IUPUI. They trailed 54-44 with 6:44 left before closing the game on a 16-3 run. UTSA is led by Jordan Ivy-Curry and Dhieu Deing who scored 15.6 and 15.0 points, respectively. Jacob Germany averages 13.4 points per outing.
 
UTSA finished 15-11 overall and 9-7 in Conference USA last season. The team returned two starters and brought in seven newcomers.
 
The game can be watched on CUSA TV or listened to on 1440 AM K-E-Y-S with Steven King on the call.
 
NOTES
- It will be the 24th meeting between the two programs and A&M-Corpus Christi has won 10 of them. UTSA took the last meeting 89-67 on Dec. 3, 2019 in San Antonio.
 
- The Islanders are looking to beat a third Division I school in non-conference play for the first time since 2016-17.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi has outscored the opposition in points in the paint and in fast break points in all four games this year. The team is 3-0 when it outscores the opposition off the bench.
 
- The Islanders hung tough against Texas A&M in their only defeat and outrebounded them 37-35. A&M-Corpus Christi led as late as the 14:10 mark of the second half.
 
- Smith surpassed 1,000 career points against the Aggies and is up to 1,014. He was named to the Preseason All-Conference First-Team. Two years ago, he was the team's leading scorer with 13.5 points per outing. Smith ranks seventh all-time in school history in both assists and three-pointers made.
 
- The Steve Lutz-era began with a thumping over his alma mater Texas Lutheran on opening day 102-64. Lutz was announced the head coach in April 2021 after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at Purdue.
 
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