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CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Looking to start 8-1 for the first time in program history, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program will host UTRGV in a rematch Wednesday in the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union at 7 p.m. in the American Bank Center
A&M-Corpus Christi is 7-1 for the first time since 2004-05.
The South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union, is an annual rivalry series in which Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV compete against each other in 12 sports. The Islanders lead the all-time series 4-1. This year, A&M-Corpus Christi is ahead 19-6 with each win counting as three points and one point being awarded for attendance for men's basketball, women's basketball, volleyball and baseball. The Vaqueros posted a MBB attendance of 1,681.
In men's basketball, A&M-Corpus Christi is 15-11 all-time against UTRGV and 7-6 at home. The Islanders won the first meeting this year 83-77 on the road as junior
Isaac Mushila registered a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds.
Mushila is the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week winner, his second of the season. The Lubumbashi, Congo native averaged 20.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in victories over UTRGV and Southwestern.
Mushila nearly averages a double-double with 15.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game on the season. He ranks first in the Southland Conference in field goal percentage (.651). His first SLC Player of the Week award came on Nov. 22 after he was named to the UTSA All-Tournament Team along with senior
De'Lazarus Keys.
Mushila is one of three Islanders averaging in double-figures along with senior
Myles Smith and junior
Trevian Tennyson who each put in 10.4 points per outing. Smith and Tennyson have combined for 27 of the team's 51 made three-pointers.
Junior
Terrion Murdix ranks first in the conference in assists (4.6 apg) and assist:turnover ratio (2.2). In the first meeting against UTRGV, he netted a career-high 14 points and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
The Islanders are coming off a lopsided 111-60 win over Southwestern. The 51-point margin of victory was the program's largest since 2005-06 when A&M-Corpus Christi beat Texas A&M-International by 58. The Islanders garnered seven double-figure scorers in a game for the first time in school history.
A&M-Corpus Christi will look to slow down Justin Johnson who finished with 33 points and eight rebounds for UTRGV in the first meeting on 12-of-16 shooting and 4-of-8 from three-point range. Johnson, a Southern Miss transfer, averages 19.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and shoots .517 (15-29) from beyond-the-arc.
Wednesday's game can be watched live on ESPN+ with
Steven King on the call.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is receiving 29 votes in the CollegeInsider Mid Major Top-25 Poll.
- The first 2021-22 NET Ranking came out Monday and the Islanders were ranked 132 out of 358 Division I institutions. A&M-Corpus Christi was the highest ranked team in the Southland Conference by 32 spots over Nicholls and 142 spots ahead of the third-highest team New Orleans.
- The Islanders have already surpassed last season's win total by two games.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 205-101 all-time at home and 136-74 in the American Bank Center. The Islanders are 3-0 at home this year.
- As a team, the Islanders rank first in the SLC in scoring (82.5 ppg), field goal percentage (.495), rebounding margin (+7.6) and assists (17.88 apg).
- A&M-Corpus Christi has outscored the opposition in fast break points in all eight games this year. The team is 7-0 when it outscores the opposition off the bench.
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