CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Winning its fourth game in a row, the Texas A&M Corpus Christi men's basketball program topped St. Mary's (TX) 88-73 on Saturday at the Dugan Wellness Center.
A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 5-1 overall on the season. The streak includes victories over St. Mary's, UTSA, Denver and IUPUI.
The Islanders had their way in the paint with a 48-24 edge and shot .643 (36-56) from the field and .529 (9-17) from three-point range. A&M-Corpus Christi got out in transition and held a 20-2 advantage in fast break scoring.
Junior
Isaac Mushila, the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week winner, submitted his second consecutive double-double with game-highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was 7-of-9 from the floor.
Also doing a lot of damage offensively was senior
Simeon Fryer with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Seniors
San Antonio Brinson and
Myles Smith finished with 10 points apiece, while senior
De'Lazarus Keys ended with eight points and eight rebounds. Freshman
Jalen Jackson notched eight points and six assists.
The Rattlers were guided by Caleb Jordan and C.J. Washington who scored 17 points apiece.
A&M-Corpus Christi led 9-8 after Fryer hit back-to-back threes, and junior
Terrion Murdix converted a lay-up to go up 17-8 at the 12:45 mark.
St. Mary's got the deficit down to 34-29, but the Islanders answered with a lay-in by Fryer and a three by junior
Trevian Tennyson to make it a 39-29 game with 1:34 left. A&M-Corpus Christi led 41-30 at the break after a transition bucket by Keys.
A lay-up by Fryer and a three by Smith increased the edge to 50-34 with 16:33 to go in the second. A three by Tennyson upped it to 59-40 with 14:13 remaining.
Although the Rattlers were never within striking distance of threatening the outcome, they didn't go away either. They trailed 68-58 at the 9:02 mark and kept it at 79-66 with 4:08 left. Mushila made a pair of lay-ups in the final minute to make it a 15-point margin.
The Islanders will be back on the road Wednesday when they travel to UTRGV for a 7:30 p.m. tip in the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 5-0 all-time against St. Mary's.
- The Islanders are now 204-101 all-time at home and 2-0 this year.
- A&M-Corpus Christi has outscored the opposition in points in the paint and in fast break points in all six games this year. The team improved to 5-0 when outscoring the opposition off the bench, where it held a 28-12 edge.
- Mushila registered his fifth consecutive double-figure scoring game and second straight double-digit rebounding affair. His seven made field goals were a career-high.
- Fryer's 16 points were a season-high, topping his nine at UTSA. It was his eighth career double-figure scoring game.
- Smith netted his fourth double-digit scoring game of the year and 51st of his career. Before the game, he was honored in becoming a 1,000-point career scorer. Smith surpassed 1,000 against the Texas A&M and is up to 1,035.
- Brinson's 10 points were a season-high. He previously had nine against both Texas Lutheran and IUPUI. Brinson was 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-2 from long distance.
- Murdix entered the game ranked second in the SLC in both assists (4.6 apg) and steals (2.0 spg). He recorded five assists and two steals in the contest.
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