Islanders Fall to ACU after Cold Shooting Day

ABILENE, Texas – The shots weren't falling for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program Saturday as it was unable to keep up with Abilene Christian in an 83-55 final at the Teague Center.
 
The Islanders (3-15, 0-9 SLC) shot .294 (15-51) from the field and .214 (3-14) from three-point range. They were also hurt by a 23-13 turnover margin against ACU (18-3, 10-1 SLC).
 
"It seems like we're talking about the same thing every game, and that's turnovers. We work on it, work on it and work on it, but then we come out here and are careless with the ball," said head coach Willis Wilson. "We still have a lot of games left but we have our work cut out for us. We have to be a lot better than we are right now."
 
Senior Nolan Bertain led the offense with 16 points. He was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line and also drilled a pair of threes.
 
A career-high came from junior De'Lazarus Keys who registered 15 points and seven rebounds. Another career-high came from junior Cyrie Coates Jr. who pitched in with nine points off the bench.
 
The Wildcats, who improved to 11-0 at home this year, were led by Clay Gayman's 21 points. Kolton Kohl also established a presence inside with 16 points.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi started slow and the Wildcats built an early 8-0 lead. ACU extended it to 20-4 at the 12:06 mark after a 9-0 spurt. ACU's largest lead of the half was 40-14, but the Islanders scored the last five points on three free throws by Keys and a pair by Bertain to trail 40-19 at the intermission.
 
In the second half, Bertain converted a four-point play after a three-pointer and a foul, as the Islanders trailed 57-33 with 12:26 left. Coates scored the final seven points of the game for A&M-Corpus Christi.
 
The Islanders will return home Monday when they host Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. at the American Bank Center. They are 10-4 all-time against the Huskies and 7-0 at home.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 9-6 all-time against Abilene Christian, including a 5-3 mark on the road.
 
- The Islanders matched their season-high with 22 made free throws, as they did the same against Our Lady of the Lake on Dec. 19, 2020.
 
- Bertain's 10 made free throws were a career-high. He notched his 11th career double-figure scoring game and sixth this year. He entered the game ranked third in the conference in three-point percentage (.413) and was 2-for-5 in the contest.
 
- Keys upped his career-high from nine points, set two times. His five field goals were also a career-best.
 
- Coates' previous career-high was eight points against Texas State on Nov. 20, 2020.
 
- Head coach Willis carries a 90-79 record against Southland Conference opponents. He's won 141 games overall since arriving at The Island University and is the program's career leader in coaching victories.
 
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