Mississippi State Pulls Away Late from A&M-Corpus Christi

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Leading by 12 in the first half and by five at the intermission, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program battled Mississippi State in a 63-44 defeat Monday at Humphrey Coliseum.
 
The Islanders (0-1) clamped down defensively in the first half to build the lead and limited the Bulldogs (1-0) to 10-of-28 (.357) shooting including 2-of-10 (.200) from long range. A&M-Corpus Christi ran the floor offensively and scored 10 fast break points to grab an advantage.
 
Though, the script flipped in the second half as the Bulldogs shot 15-of-31 (.484) mark and held A&M-Corpus Christi to a 6-of-28 (.214) clip.
 
Senior Terrion Murdix, a Southland Preseason All-Conference First-Team selection, led the Islanders with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists. Seniors De'Lazarus Keys and Isaac Mushila aided the attack with eight points apiece.
 

Great sequence for T. Murdix as he hits a 3FG at the end of the shot clock and follows it up with a steal and lay-in.

Islanders now lead 17-8, 12:25 1H. Timeout MSST.#ShakasUp // #LutzGo pic.twitter.com/K23IClKXno

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

Mississippi State was guided by Tolu Smith's 19 points and 11 rebounds. Shakeel Moore scored 11 points off the bench.
 
The Islanders scored the first bucket as a jumper by Keys accounted for the first score of the season. A fast-break lay-up by Mushila kept the team ahead 10-6 at the 15:27 mark.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi went on a 10-0 run which included threes by Murdix and senior Ross Williams to lead 20-8 with 10:14 remaining.
 
Mississippi State got the deficit down to 23-19 with 4:13 left. Though, a late three by senior Tyrese Nickelson kept the Islanders ahead 30-25 at the half.
 
The Bulldogs came out hot in the second and took their first lead of the game 35-34 on free throw with 16:07 left. It turned into a 7-0 run for Mississippi State which extended it to 39-34 with 14:26 remaining.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi cut it to 39-37 after a three in the corner by senior Trevian Tennyson, but the Bulldogs answered with an 8-0 spurt to go up 47-37 at the 9:09 mark.
 
Mississippi State created separation down the stretch and held a double-figure lead for the final six minutes. A&M-Corpus Christi used all 14 available student-athletes on the roster.
 
The Islanders will play their home opener Friday, Nov. 11 when they host UTSA at 7 p.m. in the Dugan Wellness Center. 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
- The Islanders began their 24th season of basketball. They are now 20-4 all-time in season-openers; it was their first opener against a Power 5 school since 2011-12.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi ranked 14th in the country last year in turnovers forced per game (16.51) and were right on par with 16 in the game.
 
- It was the first time in the last 18 games that the Islanders fell despite holding the opposition to 70 points or less.
 
- The Islanders used the same starting lineup that they primarily used last year. They were one of three teams in the nation to return both their entire starting five and top-five leading scorers from last season.
 
- The 30-25 halftime score was the identical score of the SLC Championship game last season against Southeastern Louisiana.
 
- Murdix registered his 18th career double-figure scoring game and eighth in a row dating back to last season. It was the second time he's hit a pair of threes in a game as he also did so last year at Minnesota.


 
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#ShakasUp