Second Half Comeback Attempt Falls Short against Nicholls

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KATY, Texas – Trailing by 15 at half, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program cut it to a two-point deficit in the second, but Nicholls ended on top 84-75 in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Preseason Tip-Off at the Merrell Center.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi (12-4) was down 46-31 at the half when it came back to make it a 59-57 game with 8:42 left after a pair of free throws by junior Isaac Mushila. The Islanders were within striking distance for the entire second half, but the Colonels made shots and hit free throws down the stretch to stay in front.
 
Junior Trevian Tennyson poured in a career-high 23 points and grabbed a career-best five rebounds. He was 8-of-16 from the floor and hit five three-pointers.
 
Senior Simeon Fryer tallied 16 points and drilled four three-pointers for the second time in his career. Junior Isaac Mushila registered 15 points and six rebounds and was 9-of-11 from the free throw line.
 
Nicholls (10-6), the SLC Preseason favorite, was guided by Pierce Spencer's 20 points and eight rebounds and was 5-of-8 from long distance. Devante Carter finished with 17 points.
 
The Islanders trailed 18-12 at the midway point of the first half when Tennyson hit back-to-back threes to tie it 18-18 at the 7:47 mark. A long-range shot by junior Tyrese Nickelson had A&M-Corpus Christi down 24-23 with 5:02 left.
 
Nicholls caught fire in the final three minutes. It ended the half on a 15-3 run which included four three-pointers to catapult ahead 46-31 at the intermission.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi opened the second half on a 9-0 spurt with field goals by Fryer, Mushila and Tennyson to trim it to 46-40 with 15:27 remaining. Threes by Tennyson and Fryer cut it to 50-48 with 13:13 to go.

Fryer for three!!! One possession game.#ShakasUp // #LutzGo pic.twitter.com/sxldbLMiEe

— Islanders Men's Basketball (@Islanders_MBB) January 8, 2022

It was the first of three times that the Islanders were down by two. Tennyson hit a three to make it 57-55 and Mushila nailed two free throws to trail 59-57 with 8:17 left. Though, Nicholls hit big shots and A&M-Corpus Christi could never get closer. The Colonels slowly extended their lead down the stretch to thwart a final comeback attempt.
 
The Islanders will close out the SLC Preseason Tipoff at 5 p.m. Saturday in the third-place game against McNeese at the Merrell Center.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 10-7 all-time against Nicholls. It was the first-ever meeting on a neutral court.
 
- The Islanders are 24-21 all-time on a neutral court and 3-1 this year.
 
- Tennyson continued his streak of hitting a three-pointer in every game this year. He surpassed his previous career-high of 19 points against Lamar on Dec. 18. Tennyson recorded his eighth double-figure scoring game and sixth in the last seven matches.
 
- Fryer netted his 13th career double-digit performance and sixth this year. He was 5-of-11 from the floor and 4-for-9 from beyond-the-arc.
 
- Mushila posted his 12th double-figure scoring game. He was coming off a 27-point performance against Northwestern State. Mushila made at least nine free throws in a game for the fourth time this year.
 
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#ShakasUp