SLU Barely Gets Past A&M-Corpus Christi on Last-Second Three-Pointer

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana's Byron Smith hit a three-pointer with under a second left to lift the Lions over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program 78-75 Monday at the American Bank Center.
 
The teams went blow-for-blow the entire second half, but it came down to SLU (7-14, 5-6 SLC) having the last shot and converted. The game featured nine ties and 10 lead changes.
 
The Islanders (4-16, 1-10 SLC) garnered 20 points and eight rebounds from sophomore Jalen White. A career-high came from junior De'Lazarus Keys as he finished with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Junior Simeon Fryer also finished in double-figures with 10 points.
 
SLU was on fire in the first half and ended the game shooting .500 (50-60) from the field and .462 (12-26) from three-point range. The Lions were led by Nick Caldwell's 19 points. Smith's three-pointer in the end was his only field goal of the game.
 
The Islanders picked it up in the second half with a .571 (12-21) mark after shooting .429 (12-28) in the first. They posted a .905 (19-21) free throw percentage for the game.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi started slow and fell behind 21-8 at the 12:34 mark in the first half. A put-back by White cut it to 24-17 and three-pointers by senior Myles Smith and Jordan Hairston made it a 26-24 game with 7:56 to go.
 
The Islanders couldn't get the lead in the first half but scored the final three points on an old-fashion three-point play by Smith to trail 41-40 at the intermission.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi went ahead 50-49 with 14:37 left on a jumper by Keys in the paint. The teams went toe-to-toe for the next eight minutes with neither team leading by more than two.
 
The Islanders created slight separation when White nailed a three and Smith netted a jumper to put them up 70-65 with 4:56 remaining. A&M-Corpus Christi still led 72-69 at the 2:16 mark after a pair of free throws by White.
 
The Lions tied it 75-75 on a three-pointer by Nick Caldwell with 49 seconds left. After a missed jump shot, SLU grabbed the rebound with 22 seconds and held for the last shot. Byron Smith knocked down three after a drive and kickout by JonDarius Warren.
 
Monday's game was sponsored by the CITGO Petroleum Company, Corpus Christi.
 
The Islanders will continue their busy week Wednesday when they host New Orleans at 7 p.m. at the American Bank Center on Senior Day.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 11-8 all-time against Southeastern Louisiana, including an 8-3 mark at home.
 
- The Islanders dropped to 202-100 all-time at home and 134-73 at the American Bank Center.
 
- White became the third Islander to make 10 free throws in a game along with Fryer and senior Nolan Bertain. He submitted his eighth double-figure scoring game and third 20-plus outing of the year. He was coming off a 21-point performance against Lamar on Monday.
 
- Keys topped his previous career-high of 15 points set in each of the previous two games. His 11 rebounds matched a career-high. Keys tallied his first career double-double and was 8-of-13 from the floor.
 
- Bertain entered the game ranked second in the Southland Conference in three-point percentage (.427) and was 2-of-4 (.500) in the contest.
 
- Head coach Willis Wilson carries a 91-80 record against Southland Conference 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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