Islanders Complete Unbeaten Road Weekend with Key Win at HBU

HOUSTON – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program built a 20-point lead in the first half and made enough plays down the stretch to hold off HBU in a 75-70 victory Saturday at Sharp Gym.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi (19-10, 6-6 SLC), which won its third game in a row, led by 14 at halftime against HBU (9-16, 5-7 SLC) before the Huskies came storming back to make it a one-point game with exactly one minute left. A crucial offensive rebound by junior Terrion Murdix with 28 seconds led to free throws, and the Islanders prevailed in the end.
 
With the win, the Islanders moved a game ahead of HBU for fourth-place. The third and fourth place teams in the Southland Conference standings earn a bye to the quarterfinals of the SLC Tournament, while the top-two seeds receive double byes to the semifinals.
 
Senior Myles Smith excelled with 16 points which matched his season-high and was a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Fellow senior Simeon Fryer netted 12 points.
 
Recording a double-double was junior Isaac Mushila with 12 points and rebounds. Junior Terrion Murdix tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
 
The Islanders registered a 40-31 rebounding advantage.
 
HBU was guided by Khristion Courseault's 16 points. Darius Lee ended with 14 points. The Huskies shot 24-of-28 (.857) from the free throw line.
 
Trailing 3-2 early, junior Jalen Jackson hit a jumper to beat the shot clock which sparked a big 14-0 run, capped by a three by Smith to go up 16-3 with 11:33 remaining. HBU didn't make its first field goal until the 11:18 mark.
 
A three by junior Trevian Tennyson, followed by a steal and fast-break lay-up by Murdix increased it to 25-5 with 9:26 left. Lay-ins by junior Tyrese Nickelson and senior De'Lazarus Keys kept the Islanders ahead 29-10 with 8:33 to go.
 
The Huskies responded with a 7-0 run to trim it to 29-17 with 5:07 left. Threes by Fryer and senior San Antonio Brinson got it back up to 37-19 as HBU called timeout with 3:32 remaining. The Huskies scored the final six points of the half but A&M-Corpus Christi still led 41-27 at the break.
 
HBU got the deficit down to single-figures 45-36 early in the second half, but lay-ins by Mushila and Fryer pushed it back up to 52-38 with 14:40 left. A lay-up by Fryer after a drive by Nickelson made it 62-47 at the 9:12 mark.
 

Nickelson with a nice drive and dish to Fryer.#ShakasUp // #LutzGo pic.twitter.com/NbzJjMYEMt

— Islanders Men's Basketball (@Islanders_MBB) February 27, 2022

The Huskies answered with a 9-0 spurt to cut it to 62-56 with 7:22 to go. A three by Jade Tse further chipped into it 66-61 as the Islanders called timeout with 4:03 left. A three-point play by Sam Hofman made it 70-69 Islanders with 60 seconds remaining.
 
On the ensuing possession, Murdix grabbed an offensive rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to lead 72-69 with 28 seconds. The Huskies threw up a desperation three with six seconds left that fell short and the Islanders gained possession.
 
The Islanders will play their home finale Wednesday when they host Nicholls at 7:30 p.m. at the American Bank Center.
 
NOTES
- The Islanders improved to 12-5 all-time against the Huskies.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi is one victory away from quadrupling its win total from last season when it finished 5-19 overall.
 
- All 10 student-athletes that checked in for the Islanders made a field goal.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game ranked 11th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (13.32) and pulled down 15. Individually, Mushila is top-five in the country in offensive boards (3.68 orpg) and secured five.
 
- Mushila notched his 12th double-double of the season and third in the last four games. It was also his 22nd double-figure scoring game and 14th double-digit rebounding affair of the season.
 
- Smith submitted his 57th career double-figure scoring game and 10th this year. It was the third time this season that etched 16 points.
 
- Murdix began the day ranked third in the league in steals (1.9 spg) and grabbed three. It was his 12th double-figure scoring contest of the season.
 
- Fryer turned in his 17th career double-figure scoring game, 10th this season and second in a row. He was 5-of-8 from the field and buried a pair of threes.
 
- With nine points, Nickelson turned in a conference-high and was one point shy of tying his career-high.
 
- Tennyson continued his steak of hitting a three-pointer in every game this year.
 
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#ShakasUp