HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – In a showdown between a pair of 2023 NCAA Tournament teams, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program fell 88-73 to the host Northern Kentucky in the Toyota Dealers Thanksgiving Tournament at Truist Arena on Wednesday.
A&M-Corpus Christi (2-3) outrebounded NKU (2-3) by a 33-28 margin and outscored the Norse 12-1 in second chance points, but couldn't slow down a hot shooting team. NKU was 28-of-50 (.560) from the field on its home court.
Junior
Garry Clark became the first Islander this season to register a double-double as he notched 14 points and 10 rebounds. A big night also came from graduate
Lance-Amir Paul as he submitted 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
The Islanders continued to showcase their depth as 11 different student-athletes scored and eight grabbed a rebound. They outscored NKU 35-31 off the bench. On the year, at least 10 Islanders have scored and seven have rebounded in every game.
The Norse were guided by Sam Vinson's 22 points and Marques Warrick's 21 points.
A&M-Corpus Christi led early on a three by junior
Owen Dease, but a 10-0 run by the Norse put them up 12-3 after five minutes. NKU's biggest lead of the half 24-11 came at the 11:24 mark.
The Islanders got back in it with a 7-0 run. It started with a jumper by Clark and was capped by three consecutive points by Paul to trim it to 26-20 with 5:42 to go.
Though, NKU ended the half strong and was able to get its advantage back up to 41-30 at the intermission.
A&M-Corpus Christi opened the second half with a big dunk by Dease and a free throw by Paul, which forced the Norse into taking a quick timeout. A jumper by junior
Jordan Roberts made it a 46-38 game with 18:10 left.
However, NKU went on a big 20-4 spurt to catapult ahead 66-42 at the 11:34 mark. The Islanders kept fighting though and got it down to 70-56 after a three by freshman
Amont'e Allen-Johnson and a lay-up by sophomore
Stephen Giwa with 7:46 to go.
A&M-Corpus Christi will play its second of two games Friday when it squares off with LIU at 1 p.m. (CT) in a neutral court game.
NOTES
- It was the first-ever meeting against NKU
- Paul made his first start as an Islander. It was the first time this year that A&M-Corpus Christi changed its starting lineup after an injury to graduate
Marion Humphrey.
- Paul poured in his third double-figure scoring game in the last four outings. His eight assists were the most by an Islander in a game this year.
- Not only was Clark the first Islander to turn in a double-double this season but he was also the first to log 30 minutes. He surpassed previous season-highs of 10 points and nine rebounds in the season opener against Southwestern Adventist. Clark entered the game ranked top-five in the Southland Conference in steals (2.3 spg) and led the team with three.
- Junior
Dian Wright-Forde was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line and finished with nine points. He was coming off a 16-point performance against Texas Tech.
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game leading the Southland Conference in rebounding margin and again outrebounded the opposition 33-28.
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