Islanders Take Down Lamar 77-68

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – An all-around effort led to a 77-68 victory for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program over Lamar on Saturday at the American Bank Center.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi (4-14, 1-9 SLC) led by nine at the half and built a 21-point second half advantage to create separation. Lamar (4-16, 2-9 SLC) tried to claw back in it at the end but the hole was too deep.
 
Sophomore Jalen White shined with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds. Junior De'Lazarus Keys also excelled with 15 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Islanders garnered four double-figure scorers. Senior Myles Smith ended with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists, while junior Simeon Fryer recorded 10 points and five rebounds.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi shot .421 (8-19) from three-point range and held the Cardinals to a .176 (3-17) clip.
 
Lamar was led by Davion Buster's 20 points. David Muoka ended with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds in 40 minutes.
 
The Islanders led 8-2 early after Fryer knocked down a three-pointer. A&M-Corpus Christi was still ahead 16-15 when it used a 10-0 run capped by a three by senior Nolan Bertain to catapult in front 26-15 at the 6:58 mark.
 
Another three by Bertain kept it at 34-23 down the stretch, and despite a pair of free throws by Lamar, A&M-Corpus Christi led 34-25 at the break.
 
The Islanders scored the six points of the second half on a fast-break lay-up by White and a pair of buckets by Keys to go up 40-25. A&M-Corpus Christi then used a 6-0 spurt to increase the edge to 47-28 after an old-fashion three-point play by Fryer made it 47-28 with 16:16 left.
 
The largest lead of the game 53-32 came after Smith made all three free throws after getting fouled shooting a three with 14:18 remaining.
 
The Cardinals went on a 9-0 run to trim the deficit to 55-45 with 8:19 to go, but the Islanders answered with a three by Smith, two free throws by Keys and a lay-up by White to stay in front 62-45.
 
Lamar fouled until the very end but never came within nine points.
 
The Islanders will look to duplicate their performance Monday when they host Southeastern Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. at the American Bank Center.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 202-99 all-time at home and 134-72 in the American Bank Center.
 
- White tallied the second-highest scoring total of his career, only behind a 24-point effort against Our Lady of the Lake on Dec. 19, 2020. It was his seventh double-figure scoring game of the year. White was 9-of-14 from the field.
 
- Keys matched his career-high with 15 points for the second straight game. He was 6-of-12 from the floor. His eight rebounds tied for the second-most of his career.
 
- Smith registered his 46th career double-figure scoring game and eighth this season. He was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
 
- Bertain entered the game ranked third in the conference in three-point percentage (.412) and will improve upon his average after going 3-for-4. He knocked down at least three long-range shots for the eighth time this season.
 
- Head coach Willis Wilson is now 91-79 all-time against SLC opponents. He's won 142 games overall since arriving at The Island University and is the program's career leader in coaching victories.
 
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