CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Posting a season-high in scoring, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program downed Texas Lutheran 100-63 on Wednesday in the American Bank Center.
The Islanders (5-4) broke it open early in the second half with a 15-0 run to take control. On the night, they used all 11 available student-athletes and each scored and grabbed a rebound.
A pair of Islanders recorded double-doubles including senior
Isaac Mushila with 21 points and 11 rebounds and senior
Simeon Fryer with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. The duo helped A&M-Corpus Christi outrebound TLU (6-4) 50-26.
Mushila and Fryer were two of five Islanders in double-figures. Senior
Trevian Tennyson netted 15 points, sophomore
Jordan Roberts a season-high 12 and senior
Jalen Jackson 11.
A&M-Corpus Christi dominated the paint where it outscored the Bulldogs 68-18. The Islanders also shot .554 from the field.
TLU relied heavily on the three-point shot and hit 12 in the game, including eight in the first half. Though, the Bulldogs were held to just a .222 clip in the second half after a hot .421 first.
The Bulldogs were led by Xavier Phillips and DJ Ardoin who scored 10 points apiece.
The Islanders were up 14-12 early when senior
Terrion Murdix and Fryer scored lay-ups to lead 18-12 at the 12:03 mark. They extended it to 25-14 with 9:16 left after a lay-in by Mushila.
A&M-Corpus Christi's biggest lead of the half was 40-26 after a second chance bucket by senior
Tyrese Nickelson with 3:23 to go. Though, the Bulldogs ended the half strong and got it down to 42-34 at the intermission.
After TLU scored the first basket of the second, A&M-Corpus Christi answered with a 15-0 run which was started by a three by Tennyson to lead 57-36 with 16:08 left. A jumper by Roberts and a lay-up by sophomore
Connor Kern pushed it up to 71-41 at the 12:38 mark.
Jackson kept it going with a steal and fast-break lay-up to make it 80-47 with 9:27 remaining. Another basket by Kern inside changed it to 96-59 with 2:50 to go. The Islanders hit the century mark on a pair of free throws by Roberts with 44 seconds left.
A&M-Corpus Christi will be back on the road Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. (CT) game at No. 10 Arizona. The program will be going for its first-ever win over a top-25 opponent.
NOTES
- It was A&M-Corpus Christi's first home game in 20 days, the longest stretch between home games this season.
- The Islanders are 4-0 at home this year with double-figure wins by at least 18 points over UTSA, Trinity, UTRGV and TLU. A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 215-106 all-time at home and 143-77 in the American Bank Center.
- Head coach
Steve Lutz went up against his alma mater Texas Lutheran for the second year in a row after winning 102-64 last season on opening day. The Islanders are now 4-0 all-time against TLU.
- In two seasons under Lutz, the Islanders are 11-0 when they shoot over 50 percent from the field and 19-1 when the opposition scores below 70 points.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 6-0 against non-Division I opponents under Lutz.
- The Islanders are 7-2 in the month of December under Lutz. Their only losses are against Power Five schools Minnesota and Notre Dame.
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game ranked top-10 in the nation in turnovers forced per game (18.5) and steals per game (10.0). The Islanders forced 19 turnovers and grabbed 12 steals.
- Mushila was 9-of-12 from the floor in just under 17 minutes of action and registered his 18th career double-double, fifth this year and third in a row. It was also his ninth career 20-plus scoring game and fourth this season. He entered the night top-five in the nation in offensive rebounding (4.38 orpg) and pulled down five.
- Fryer's double-double was the first of his career. He topped his previous career-high of nine rebounds set last year in the NCAA Tournament against Texas Southern. Fryer tallied his 22nd career double-figure scoring game and second in a row.
- Tennyson scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half. It was his 26th career double-figure scoring performance and fifth in the last six games.
- Roberts more-than doubled his previous season-high of five points. He was three shy of his career-high 15 set last year against Southwestern. It was his fourth career double-digit scoring affair.
- Jackson notched his ninth career double-figure scoring game and second in the last three outings. He was 5-of-8 from the floor.
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