CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Building a large lead early, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program topped Our Lady of the Lake 88-74 in the non-conference finale Wednesday in the Dugan Wellness Center.
The Islanders (7-6) drained a season-high 12 three-pointers and shot an 8-for-17 (.471) mark in the first half. They were 17-of-32 from the field overall in the first half to take control of the game and led 48-29 at the intermission.
With the win, A&M-Corpus Christi remained unbeaten at home this year with a 6-0 record. All six wins have been by double-figures.
Senior
De'Lazarus Keys netted a season-high 16 points and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. He was 8-of-10 from the floor and his eight field goals matched a career-high.
Keys was one of four A&M-Corpus Christi student-athletes in double-figures. Graduate
Ross Williams was 5-of-9 from three for 15 points. Freshman
Jourdyn Grandberry registered a career-high 14 points and sophomore
Jordan Roberts tallied 14 points.
OLLU was led by Rob Gill's 17 points off the bench. The Saints shot 17-of-34 (.500) in the second half.
The Islanders led 7-6 early when a lay-up by senior
Isaac Mushila started a 12-0 run to lead 19-6 at the 14:27 mark. After OLLU got it down to 28-19, A&M-Corpus Christi responded with an 11-0 spurt as a lay-up by sophomore
Jasman Sangha made it 39-19 with 3:56 to go.
The largest lead of the first half was 46-22 after a fast-break lay-up by Roberts with 2:26 remaining. The Islanders carried a 48-29 advantage at the break.
A long-range shot by Grandberry kept A&M-Corpus Christi in front 61-41 at the 14:32 mark of the second half. The biggest lead of the night 69-43 came after a three by Roberts with 12:17 left.
The Saints tried to claw back a couple times late but the hole was too deep. The closest they came was a 79-66 deficit with 3:22 remaining.
A&M-Corpus Christi will begin conference play on the road when it travels to Northwestern State for a 2:30 p.m. game Saturday.
NOTES
- The Islanders improved to 7-0 all-time against Our Lady of the Lake. The last meeting was a 99-72 win on Dec. 19, 2020.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 217-106 all-time at home and 15-4 under head coach
Steve Lutz.
- The Islanders entered the game ranked 13th in the nation in steals per game (10.2) and grabbed 11. Senior
Jalen Jackson recorded a team-high three steals.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 8-0 against non-Division I opponents under Lutz.
- The Islanders improved to 9-4 in the month of December under Lutz in two seasons. Their only losses are against Power Five schools Minnesota, Notre Dame, Arizona and Oklahoma State all on the road.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 5-0 this year when it shoots above 33 percent from three-point range. The Islanders were 12-of-30 (.400) on the night.
- Keys turned in his 18th career double-figure scoring game and second this year. He topped his previous season-high of 10 points against Cal State Bakersfield. His nine rebounds were a season-high.
- Williams reached double-digits in scoring for the sixth time this year and second in a row as he was coming off a 19-point performance at Oklahoma State. It was the fourth time this year he hit at least five threes and second time in a row.
- Grandberry surpassed his previous career-high of eight points against Cal State Bakersfield. He was on fire with a 4-of-5 mark from three-point range.
- Roberts etched his sixth career double-figure scoring game, third this season and second in the last three games. He made five field goals and a pair of threes.
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