HOUSTON – Keeping it close early, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program led for nearly seven minutes Saturday but seventh-ranked Houston was able to pull away for an 82-50 result at the Fertitta Center.
A&M-Corpus Christi led 12-7 at the 14:04 mark and was still in front 12-11 with 12:23 to go before the Cougars jumped ahead on a 12-0 spurt. The Islanders kept it tight for most of the first half but Houston was able to create separation by scoring the last six points for a 41-27 edge at the intermission.
Graduate
Lance-Amir Paul led the offense with 10 points off the bench. A&M-Corpus Christi spread its scoring for the second straight game as junior
Jordan Roberts tallied nine points and sophomores
Owen Dease and
Stephen Giwa netted seven apiece. junior
Garry Clark secured a team-high eight rebounds.
Houston was guided by J'Wan Roberts who finished with 17 points and nine rebounds. LJ Cryer recorded 15 points.
A&M-Corpus Christi got on the board first with a field goal by Clark. A jumper by Paul and a second chance bucket by junior
Tedrick Washington Jr. extended it to 12-7.
After Houston's 12-0 run, graduate
Marion Humphrey hit a shot to make it 19-15 with 10:00 left. A free throw by Dease kept it at 25-21 with 6:50 remaining.
The Cougars ended the half strong and garnered a three in the closing seconds by Cryer to take a 41-27 advantage into the locker room. Houston increased its lead to 52-30 early in the second half.
A&M-Corpus Christi's biggest scoring run came midway through the second when it scored seven straight points. It included a pair of jumpers by Paul and a three by Roberts to make it a 63-40 game with 10:08 to go.
The Islanders will return home Monday when they host Dallas Christian in a 7:30 p.m. game at the Dugan Wellness Center. A&M-Corpus Christi opened the year with a 111-46 home win over Southwestern Adventist to break the program's record for largest margin of victory.
NOTES
- It was the highest ranked team A&M-Corpus Christi has played since Nov. 23, 2010 when it took on No. 6 Kansas.
- Nine different student-athletes scored for the Islanders and 12 student-athletes grabbed a rebound.
- It was the first meeting between the Islanders and Cougars since Nov. 30, 2013 and the eighth overall in the series. A&M-Corpus Christi's lone win over the Cougars came on Dec. 18, 2010 in an 81-78 overtime decision in Corpus Christi.
- It was the first double-figure scoring game for Paul in an A&M-Corpus Christi uniform after he spent last season at Nicholls. Paul scored six points in the season opener against Southwestern Adventist.
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