CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In the final game at the Dugan Wellness Center this season, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program will host UIW in Southland Conference action Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
A&M-Corpus Christi (8-6, 1-0 SLC) is 6-0 at home this year with all wins by double-figures. The program is 217-106 all-time at home.
The Islanders opened conference play with a road win at Northwestern State over the weekend. A&M-Corpus Christi trailed 54-53 with 2:14 remaining when it went on a decisive 8-0 run to go up 61-54 with 34 seconds left.
Senior
Terrion Murdix netted season-highs of 19 points and 9 rebounds, while senior
Isaac Mushila tallied 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Islanders improved to 14-7 all-time against NWST and 3-1 under head coach
Steve Lutz.
Mushila nearly averages a double-double with 14.3 points and a league-leading 9.7 rebounds per game. He's one of four Islanders averaging in double-figure scoring along with senior
Trevian Tennyson (12.1 ppg), Murdix (11.2 ppg) and graduate
Ross Williams (10.5 ppg). Murdix ranks second in the league in both steals (2.1 spg) and assist:turnover ratio (2.7).
The Islanders rank 16th in the nation in steals per game (9.9), 21st in turnovers forced per game (17.5) and 21st in bench points per game (30.1). Individually, Mushila is top-10 in the country in offensive rebounds per game (3.7), 14th in double-doubles (6) and 18th in rebounding (9.7 rpg).
UIW (6-8, 0-1 SLC) will look to shake off a tough 82-74 overtime loss at Texas A&M-Commerce to begin conference. The Cardinals had a look to win it at the end of regulation but a shot from the short corner just wouldn't fall.
UIW registered non-conference wins over Dartmouth, Grambling State and Bethune-Cookman. Jonathan Cisse leads the team with 13.1 points per game and shoots .474 (27-57) from three-point range and .889 (48-54) from the free throw line.
The game can be watched with a subscription on ESPN+ with Steven King on the call. It will be the first of back-to-back games against UIW as the Islanders will travel to San Antonio for a 4 p.m. tip Saturday.
NOTES
- The Islanders are 11-6 all-time against UIW and 6-2 at home. A&M-Corpus Christi is 2-0 against the Cardinals under Lutz after sweeping the season series last year 80-64 at home and 77-68 on the road.
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 146-124 all-time in the Southland Conference since joining the league in 2006-07.
- The Islanders are the second-highest ranked team in the Southland Conference in NET Rankings at 187 out of 363 Division I institution, two spots behind NWST at 185. A&M-Corpus Christi knocked the Demons out of the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top-25 this week.
- In two seasons under Lutz, the Islanders are 12-0 when they shoot over 50 percent from the field and 21-1 when the opposition scores below 70 points. This season, the team is 5-0 when they shoot above 33 percent from three-point range.
- The Islanders rank first in the Southland Conference in free throw percentage (.764), defensive rebounding (25.1 drpg), rebounding margin (+1.5) and assist:turnover ratio (1.2).
- A&M-Corpus Christi wrapped-up non-conference with a 7-6 record, which included wins over UTRGV, UTSA and Alcorn State. A&M-Corpus Christi is 23-11 in non-conference games under Lutz, which included postseason play last year.
- The Islanders finished 10-4 in the month of December under Lutz in two seasons. Their only losses are against Power Five schools Minnesota, Notre Dame, Arizona and Oklahoma State all on the road.
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).
#ShakasUp
