Southeastern Slips Past A&M-Corpus Christi in Overtime

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Southeastern hit a desperation three-pointer at the end of regulation and then did just enough to get past the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program 85-82 in overtime Thursday at the American Bank Center.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi (10-7, 3-1 SLC) led 35-22 at half when SLU (9-8, 3-1 SLC) caught fire and shot .630 from the floor in the second half and a perfect 4-for-4 in overtime. Still, the Islanders were ahead for nearly the entire game until the game-tying three-pointer by Alec Woodard with seven seconds left.
 
It was the first home defeat for the Islanders who are now 7-1 at home this season. The game featured seven ties and eight lead changes.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi was guided by Terrion Murdix's 19 points and eight assists. Senior Trevian Tennyson tallied 18 points and was 6-of-12 from long-range.
 
A double-double from senior Isaac Mushila with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Senior Jalen Jackson also reached double-figures with 12 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
 
The Islanders outrebounded the Lions 40-23 which led to a 14-5 edge in second chance points.
 
SLU garnered a big contribution from Nick Caldwell off the bench with 21 points. Roger McFarlane finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, Woodard 18 points and Boogie Anderson 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
 
The game was tight early as a lay-up by Murdix had the Islanders in front 12-11 at the 11:50 mark. A three by Williams, a bucket by Murdix and a three by Mushila extended it to 29-17 at the 6:58 mark.
 
A lay-in by Murdix on the team's final possession increased it to 35-22 at the end of the first half.
 

1:00 1H - Fryer with the DUNK! Islanders lead 33-22 over the Lions!#ShakasUp // #GoIslanders pic.twitter.com/otFTDeRt62

— Islanders Men's Basketball (@Islanders_MBB) January 13, 2023

The Islanders took their largest advantage of the game 43-29 early in the second half on a three by Tennyson.
 
Still up 47-34, the Lions got back in it with a 7-0 run to trail 47-41 with 12:24 to go. SLU slowly chipped away and got it down to 56-54 with 7:11 remaining. A lay-up by Anderson tied it 63-63 with 2:21 left.
 
The Islanders went back up 65-63 after a pair of free throws by Jackson with 1:54 remaining. After exchanging free throws back and forth, A&M-Corpus Christi was up 69-66 with 12 seconds. The Lions raced down the court and threw up a contested three that dropped to tie it. The Islanders had a final look at the end of regulation but a mid-range floater just wouldn't fall.
 
SLU scored the first five points of overtime to lead 74-69. A&M-Corpus Christi came back to tie it 74-74 after a free throw by Mushila with 2:04 left, but consecutive baskets by the Lions put them up 78-74 with 1:24 remaining.
 
SLU led 84-79 when Tennyson nailed a three with nine seconds left. After a foul, the Lions made one of two free throws to give the Islanders a chance, but a tough three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
 
The Islanders will remain at home Saturday when they host New Orleans at 3:30 p.m. at the American Bank Center. The game will be sponsored by KIII News.
 
NOTES
- The Islanders are now 13-10 all-time against Southeastern, 7-5 at home and 2-2 under head coach Steve Lutz.
 
- Thursday was a rematch of the 2022 SLC Championship game which saw the Islanders win 73-65 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. It was the second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and the first since 2006-07.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi dropped to 218-107 all-time at home and 143-78 at the American Bank Center.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 148-125 all-time in the Southland Conference since joining the league in 2006-07.
 
- Murdix was 9-of-13 from the floor and his nine makes were a career-high. He tied his season-high with eight assists after entering the night with a conference-best 4.4 per outing. Murdix notched his 27th career double-figure scoring game, 10th this season and fourth in a row.
 
- Tennyson's six made three-pointers marked a career-high. He's shooting 14-of-28 (.500) from beyond-the-arc in conference games. Tennyson recorded his 32nd career double-figure scoring game, 12th this year and fourth in a row.
 
- Mushila turned in his 20th career double-double and seventh this season. It was also his 34th career double-figure scoring game and 10th this year, and 23rd career double-digit rebounding performance and seventh this season.
 
- Jackson's eight free throws were a career-high. He submitted his 12th career double-figure scoring game, fifth this year and second in a row as he was coming off a 14-point outing at UIW.
 
- Over the last seven games, graduate Ross Williams has had the hot hand and is 22-for-44 (.500) from three-point range. He was 3-of-7 on the night for nine points.
 


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