Islanders Use Big Second Half at Omaha to Win Eighth Consecutive Game

OMAHA, Neb. – Down by one at half, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program went on a run early in the second and pulled away in the final six minutes to beat Omaha 87-73 on Saturday at Baxter Arena.
 
It marked the eighth straight win for A&M-Corpus Christi (9-1), which is off to its best start in school history.
 
In the second half, the Islanders were 17-of-29 (.586) from the floor after shooting 12-of-29 (.414) in the first. For the game, A&M-Corpus Christi scored 50 points off the bench and garnered four double-figure scorers.
 
Junior Terrion Murdix led the way with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Junior Trevian Tennyson matched his career-high with 18 points and senior De'Lazarus Keys notched a season-high with 12 points. Senior Simeon Fryer was also a big contributor with 13 points.
 
The Islanders forced 25 turnovers and outscored Omaha 25-12 in points off turnovers and 14-3 in fast breaks.
 
The Mavs (1-9) were guided by Darrius Hughes who finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Felix Lemetti ended with 11 points and six rebounds.
 
The Islanders started behind 8-2 when Fryer knocked down a three-pointer. After a three by Tennyson and a free throw by sophomore Stephen Faramade the score was tied 13-13 at the 11:39 mark. A&M-Corpus Christi took its first lead of the half 24-23 on a bucket in the post by Keys with 6:02 remaining.
 
Over the next three and a half minutes, the Mavs went on a run to take a 36-30 advantage with 2:30 left. Though, the Islanders scored the final five points of the half to trail 36-35 after a three by Tennyson and a jumper by freshman Jordan Roberts.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi came out of the gates hot in the second half – it took the lead at the 17:43 mark on a pair of free throws by Fryer, which sparked a 7-0 run to begin the period. A lay-up by junior Jalen Jackson extended it to 47-40 with 15:52 left.
 
After Omaha cut it to 54-50, the Islanders responded with a 6-0 run which included a lay-in by Murdix to make it a 60-50 game with 9:21 to go. A lay-up by Smith extended it to 65-53 at the 6:32 mark.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi kept its foot on the gas and used a three by Fryer and a lay-up by Tennyson to change the score to 77-60 with 2:23 remaining.
 
The Islanders will remain on the road Tuesday when they travel to Minnesota for a 7 p.m. tip.
 

VICTORY !!!!!#ShakasUp // #LutzGo pic.twitter.com/YCULxWkTb9

— Islanders Men's Basketball (@Islanders_MBB) December 12, 2021

NOTES
- It was the first-ever meeting between A&M-Corpus Christi and Omaha.
 
- The Islanders have already surpassed last season's win total by four games.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game ranked 18th in the nation in turnovers forced per game (18.22) and forced 25 in the contest.
 
- The Islanders have outscored the opposition in fast break points in all 10 games this year. They are now 80 when outscoring the opposition off the bench.
 
- Murdix surpassed his previous career-high of 14 points at UTRGV. He was 6-of-7 from the free throw line.
 
- Tennyson tied his career-high of 18 points set against Texas Lutheran. Tennyson hit five jumpers including a pair of three-pointers and was 6-of-8 from the line.
 
- Fryer recorded his 11th career double-figure scoring game, fourth this year and third in a row. He was coming off an 18-point outing against UTRGV.
 
- Keys registered his sixth career double-digit scoring outing and third this year. He topped his previous season-high of 11 points vs. IUPUI. Keys' six made field goals were also a season-best.


 
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#ShakasUp