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KATY, Texas – Finishing the Southland Conference Preseason Tip-Off in third-place, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program shook-off McNeese in the second half for a 67-54 win Saturday at the Merrell Center.
A&M-Corpus Christi (13-4) went 2-1 over three days with wins over Northwestern State and McNeese (5-11). For the tournament, junior
Isaac Mushila averaged 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds, junior
Trevian Tennyson 15.3 points and senior
De'Lazarus Keys 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds.
The Islanders trailed the Cowboys by 10 points in the first half before coming back to take the lead at the intermission. A&M-Corpus Christi extended its edge into double-figures in the second half and was in full control in the final seven minutes.
A&M-Corpus Christi garnered five double-figure scorers. Keys led the way with a season-high 16 point on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Fellow senior
Myles Smith scored 13 points off the bench and hit a pair of threes.
With 12 points apiece were Tennyson and junior
Terrion Murdix. Rounding it out was Mushila with 10 points and seven rebounds.
McNeese was led by Zach Scott's 15 points. The Cowboys were 5-of-13 from three in the first half but held to a 0-for-4 clip in the second.
A&M-Corpus Christi posted a positive 22-14 turnover margin which led to a 20-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
McNeese got off to a fast start and scored the first seven points of the game. Though, after trailing 16-6, the Islanders answered with a 10-0 run to tie it at the 9:22 mark. The spurt included a play from Murdix to Smith out of a timeout.
The Cowboys responded with back-to-back threes to go back up 22-16 with 7:05 to go.
A&M-Corpus Christi ended the half strong with a 10-2 spurt. The Islanders regained the lead 29-28 after a drive by Keys, and went up 32-28 after a three by Tennyson with under a minute left. A pair of free throws by senior
Simeon Fryer with 22 seconds left gave them a 34-30 edge at the break.
The Cowboys got the lead back temporarily 41-40 at the 12:27 mark, but after a lay-up by Keys they never led again. A&M-Corpus Christi used an 8-0 run to go up 48-41 with 10:03 left and extended it to 56-45 on a four-point play by Smith with 7:15 to go.
The Islanders never gave up a run down the stretch and McNeese wasn't able to get back in it. An old-fashion three-point play by Mushila put A&M-Corpus Christi ahead 64-52 with 2:10 remaining.
The Islanders will begin conference play Saturday when it hosts UIW at 3:30 p.m. at the American Bank Center.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 14-5 all-time against McNeese and has won 11 consecutive meetings. It was the first-ever match-up between the two on a neutral court.
- A&M-Corpus Christi's 13 wins are the most it's ever won prior to conference play beginning since joining a league in 2006-07 (the program competed as an Independent prior to joining the Southland Conference).
- The Islanders have more-than doubled their win total from last season when they finished 5-19 overall.
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 25-21 all-time on a neutral court and 4-1 this season.
- The Islanders are now 10-0 this year when holding the opponent to under 33 percent from three-point range and 9-0 when leading at half.
- Keys surpassed his previous season-high of 12 points previously set twice. It was his eighth career double-figure scoring game, fifth this year and second of the tournament.
- With a pair of threes on the night, Tennyson has hit a three-pointer in every game this year. He notched his ninth double-figure scoring game of the year, third in a row and seventh in his last eight games.
- Murdix etched his fifth double-digit scoring performance of the season. He was 4-of-9 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
- Mushila posted his 13th double-digit scoring game and third in a row. All 10 of his points came in the second half where he was 4-of-6 from the floor.
- Smith scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half. It was his 53rd career double-figure scoring game and sixth this year.
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