CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In front of a sellout crowd at the Dugan Wellness Center, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program erupted in the second half for a 75-55 victory over UTSA on Monday.
 
The Islanders (1-1) trailed 28-25 at the intermission when they outscored the Roadrunners (1-1) 50-27 in the second, which included a 26-3 run midway through. A&M-Corpus Christi shot .370 from the field in the first half and .586 in the second.
 
Senior Isaac Mushila turned in a big double-double of 22 points and 16 rebounds. He was 7-of-10 from the floor and was one rebound shy of his career-high.
 
A big night also came from senior Trevian Tennyson as he registered 19 points. He was 8-of-13 from the field and hit a trio of three-pointers.
 
The Islanders took control of the paint where they outscored UTSA 34-18.
 
The Roadrunners were guided by DJ Richards who scored 14 points off the bench.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi got off to a quick start and led 9-2 at the 15:58 mark after a second chance lay-up by Mushila. An old-fashion three-point play by Mushila kept the Islanders ahead 18-12 with 11:04 left.
 
UTSA slowly chipped into the lead and came back to tie it 20-20 with 5:03 remaining. A three-pointer on the final possession gave the Roadrunners a 28-25 edge heading into the break.
 
UTSA took its largest lead of the game 36-28 with 17:43 to go in the second. The Islanders responded with a 10-0 run which started with a jumper by Tennyson and ended with a lay-up by senior Terrion Murdix to lead 38-36 with 14:10 left.
 
Still up 43-42, the Islanders took control with a big 13-0 spurt which included threes by Mushila and senior Jalen Jackson to go up 56-42 at the 8:26 mark. It continued into a 26-3 run to catapult ahead 69-45 with 3:12 remaining.
 
Up next, the Islanders will play in the American Bank Center at 7 p.m. Monday against Trinity (TX). It will be a celebration of the 2022 Southland Conference Tournament championship team as A&M-Corpus Christi will unveil a SLC Championship banner and an NCAA Tournament banner, in addition to a pre-game ring ceremony
 
Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online at goislanders.com/tickets or by phone at 361-825-BALL (2255). The ticket office can also be reached via email at tickets@tamucc.edu.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 21-3 all-time in home openers and have won three in a row. Last season, the Islanders defeated Texas Lutheran 102-64 on opening day.
 
- The Islanders are now 212-106 all-time at home.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi moved ahead of UTSA in the all-time series 14-13. The two used to be Southland Conference foes from 2006-12. The Islanders won last year's meeting 77-58 on the road as Mushila had similar numbers of 21 points and 17 rebounds.
 
- Mushila registered his 14th career double-double. It was his sixth career 20-plus scoring game, 25th double-figure scoring outing, sixth 15-plus rebounding game and 17th double-digit rebounding performance.
 
- Tennyson tallied his 21st career double-figure scoring game. His eight made field goals matched a career-high set last season against Nicholls in the SLC Preseason Tournament on Jan. 7, 2022.
 
- Murdix tied a school record with a career-high seven steals to go along with seven points and five assists. It was the fifth time in school history an Islander had seven steals in a game with the last coming on March 29, 2017 by Jake Kocher against UMBC. Murdix was named to the 2021-22 SLC All-Defensive Team.
 


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