CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Returning to the American Bank Center this weekend, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program will host Nicholls at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and McNeese at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
A&M-Corpus Christi (11-9, 4-3 SLC) will look to shake-off a tough road weekend at Lamar and HCU. The Islanders are one game out of first-place in the SLC standings behind Nicholls and Southeastern which are 5-2.
The Islanders are 8-1 at home this year. A&M-Corpus Christi is 219-107 all-time at home and 144-78 at the American Bank Center.
In their last home game, the Islanders posted a historic shooting night in a 97-79 win over New Orleans where they drained a school record 16 three-pointers and shot .667 (16-24) from beyond the arc. The previous school record for threes made in a game was 14. Senior
Trevian Tennyson poured in a career-high 28 points and was 6-of-10 from three.
A&M-Corpus Christi has outrebounded all seven conference opponents so far. The team leads the Southland Conference in rebounding margin (+2.5) as well as scoring (89.4 ppg), free throw percentage (.761), assists (15.9 apg), assist:turnover ratio (1.2) and steals (9.5 spg).
A&M-Corpus Christi has four student-athletes averaging in double-figures. senior
Isaac Mushila nearly averages a double-double with 14.1 points and league-leading 9.8 rebounds per game. Tennyson scores 13.9 points per game including a team-high 17.7 in conference.
Senior
Terrion Murdix averages 12.6 points per outing and leads the conference in both assists (4.8 apg) and steals (2.3 spg). Graduate
Ross Williams scores 10.7 points per game and is second in the SLC in 3FG% (.434).
The Islanders have been hot from long range in conference play where they are .406 (63-155) as a team. Most notably, Tennyson is 27-of-52 (.519) and Williams is 18-of-42 (.429).
Nicholls enters play on a three-game winning-streak after beating Northwestern State 77-63 at home, followed by back-to-back victories over McNeese. Caleb Huffman and Latrell Jones lead the squad with 15.7 and 15.2 points per game, respectively.
McNeese is looking to snap a five-game skid. Christian Shumate ranks 14th in the country in offensive rebounding with 3.6 per game and averages 11.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per outing. Trae English is the team's leading scorer with 11.9 points per contest.
Both games can be watched live with a subscription to ESPN+ with Steven King on the calls.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 11-9 all-time against Nicholls and 6-2 at home. In the last meeting, the Islanders knocked off top-seeded Nicholls 71-64in the semifinals of the 2022 Southland Conference Tournament en route to winning the championship.
- The Islanders are 16-5 all-time against McNeese, 9-1 at home and 3-0 under head coach
Steve Lutz.
- It was announced by the league office that A&M-Corpus Christi's game at SLU on Feb. 4 would be moved to 11 a.m. and televised nationally on ESPNews. It's a rematch of the SLC Championship last year, which the Islanders won 73-65 to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
- The Islanders rank 16th in the nation in both steals per game (9.5) and turnovers forced per game (17.0). Individually, senior
Terrion Murdix is 15th in the country in steals per game (2.3) and senior
Isaac Mushila is 21st in rebounds per game (9.8) and 23rd in double-doubles (8).
- A&M-Corpus Christi has only given up a scoring run of 10 or more consecutive points one time this season, making them one of 12 teams in the nation to do so, per Hoop Power Analytics.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 149-127 all-time in the Southland Conference since joining the league in 2006-07.
- In two seasons under Lutz, the Islanders are 14-0 when they shoot over 50 percent from the field and 22-2 when the opposition scores below 70 points.
Suits & Sneakers Week
A&M-Corpus Christi will be participating in a nationwide event where basketball coaches across the country unite for a common cause – saving lives from cancer. Coaches are working with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to raise funds and awareness about the fight against cancer and promote the American Cancer Society as a source of inspiration and hope for those facing cancer.
Stay Social
For all the latest on Islanders Men's Basketball, be sure to follow the team on Twitter (
@Islanders_MBB), Instagram (
@IslandersMBB) and "like" the team's official Facebook page (
IslandersMBB).
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