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KATY, Texas – Taking control of the game in the first half, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program topped HBU 75-60 in the quarterfinals of the SLC Championship at the Merrell Center.
The fourth-seeded Islanders (20-11, 7-7 SLC) built an 18-point halftime lead, which never dropped below nine in the second half against the fifth-seeded Huskies (11-17, 6-8 SLC).
Nobody on A&M-Corpus Christi played over 23 minutes and 11 different student-athletes scored.
The Islanders, who have won five of their last six games, shot .500 (28-56) from the floor and limited HBU to a .305 (18-59) mark. A&M-Corpus Christi outscored the Huskies 34-18 in the paint and 36-12 off the bench.
Senior
Simeon Fryer led the way with a team-high 16 points. He was 6-of-9 from the floor and 4-of-5 from three-point range.
Fryer was one of three A&M-Corpus Christi student-athletes to score in double-figures. Junior
Terrion Murdix, who was named to the SLC All-Defensive Team, notched 12 points. Junior
Trevian Tennyson, an All-Conference Third-Team selection, netted 10 points.
The Huskies were paced by Darius Lee's 18 points. Sam Hofman contributed with 11 points and Khristion Courseault 10.
The Islanders trailed 7-6 early when a lay-in by Fryer sparked an 11-0 run, capped by junior
Jalen Jackson running the floor and scoring to lead 17-7 at the 13:07 mark. Free throws by senior
San Antonio Brinson and Murdix extended it to 23-8 with 10:57 to go.
Still up 25-10, HBU responded with an 8-0 run to trim it to 25-18 with 7:50 left. Though, A&M-Corpus Christi ended the half on a 10-3 spurt as the last score was a pair of free throws by Brinson to take a 39-21 edge into the locker room.
Murdix scored the first bucket of the second half on a runner to lead 41-21. However, the Huskies tried to get back in it by scoring 15 of the next 19 points to cut it to 45-36 with 13:54 remaining.
A floater by Murdix started an 8-0 run as the Islanders went back up 53-36 after a jumper by Tennyson with 11:38 left. A&M-Corpus Christi catapulted ahead 62-40 after a bucket by sophomore
Stephen Faramade and a three by Fryer with 7:49 to go.
A&M-Corpus Christi remained ahead 69-49 with 4:21 remaining after a mid-range shot by senior
Ethan White. A drive by freshman
Jordan Roberts was the final dagger which made it 71-51 with 3:56 left.
Up next, the Islanders will face top-seeded Nicholls at 5 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. The game can be watched on ESPN+ or heard live for free on 1440 AM NewsTalk K-E-Y-S with
Steven King on the call.
NOTES
- The Islanders improved to 13-5 all-time against HBU. It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs on a neutral court.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 9-9 all-time in the SLC Tournament. It will be making its eighth semifinal appearance in program history.
- The Islanders have more-than quadrupled their win total from last season when they finished 5-19 overall. It marked the largest year-to-year turnaround in program history.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 15-0 this season when holding the opposition to 70 points or less.
- It was the fourth time this year that Fryer hit at least four three-pointers in a game. He registered his 18th career double-figure scoring game and 11th this season. Fryer is the only student-athlete to start in every game this year.
- Murdix scored in double-figures for the 15th time this year. He was 5-of-8 from the field.
- Tennyson tallied his 19th double-figure scoring game of the season. Ironically, his streak of making a three in every game this season was snapped as his foot was on the line on one deep attempt, but he hit four jumpers inside the arc and a pair of free throws.
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