Islanders Pummel Texas Lutheran to Tip-Off Lutz Era

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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In Steve Lutz's first career game as head coach, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program cruised past his alma mater 102-64 on Tuesday in opening night at the American Bank Center.
 
The Islanders (1-0) raced out to an 18-2 lead, which was never in jeopardy the rest of the way. A&M-Corpus Christi shot 40-68 (.588) from the floor and 10-20 (.500) from beyond-the-arc. The Islanders also held a large 42-23 rebounding advantage.
 
The Islanders dominated the paint where they garnered a 54-10 edge in scoring.
 
Five student-athletes from A&M-Corpus Christi scored in double-figures. Junior Trevian Tennyson was red-hot off the bench and led all scorers with 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting. Freshman Jordan Roberts also made a strong debut with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
 
With 10 points apiece were senior Myles Smith, senior De'Lazarus Keys and sophomore Stephen Faramade. Keys also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
 
One bucket away from a double-double was junior Terrion Murdix. He registered eight points, 10 assists and five steals.
 
TLU was led by JT Watson's 12 points as he was 4-of-6 from three-point range.
 
After the Bulldogs scored the first basket of the game, the Islanders nearly put the game away with an 18-0 run. The first basket of the season was a jumper by Keys. A lay-up by junior Isaac Mushila made it a 38-21 game with 4:54 to go.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi closed the half on a 10-0 run. It started with three free throws by Smith and was capped by a fast break lay-up by Faramade to increase it to 48-23 at the half.
 
The Islanders turned it into a 15-0 run to begin the second after a jumper by junior Jalen Jackson and a three by Smith had them up 53-23. The largest lead of the night 100-62 came on a three by freshman Jordan Roberts in the closing minutes.
 
After the game, Lutz was presented the game ball by Director of Athletics Jon Palumbo.

Coach @LutzSteve awarded the game ball after tonight's victory.#ShakasUp #LutzGo pic.twitter.com/zRuG6jKwf7

— Islanders Men's Basketball (@Islanders_MBB) November 10, 2021

The Islanders will look to win another Sunday when they play their first road game of the season at 2 p.m. at Texas A&M.
 
NOTES
- The Islanders are now 20-3 all-time in season-openers and also 20-3 in home openers.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 203-101 all-time at home and 135-74 in the American Bank Center.
 
- The Islanders are now 3-0 all-time against TLU with the last meeting being an 80-42 victory in 2017-18.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi scored over 100 points in a game for the first time since Nov. 9, 2018 when it netted 113 in a win over Our Lady of the Lake.
 
- The Islanders dished out 30 assists for the first time since Feb. 22, 2006 when they distributed a school record 34 against Huston-Tillotson.
 
- Smith inched closer to the 1,000-point plateau and is now up to 988 in his career. The Preseason All-Conference First-Team selection submitted his 48th career double-figure scoring game. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
 
- Tennyson's 18 points came in just 18 minutes as he was 7-for-7 from the field and a 4-for-4 from long range. Roberts was also hot from distance and was 4-for-6 to account for nearly all of his 14 points.
 
- Keys, who missed half of last season due to injury, turned in his fourth career double-figure scoring game. He was 5-of-9 from the floor.
 
- The Islanders outscored the Bulldogs 16-2 in second chance points and gave up just five offensive rebounds.
 


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#ShakasUp