A&M-Corpus Christi Goes Cold against LIU

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The shots just weren't falling Friday for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program as it fell 83-68 to LIU in the final game of the Toyota Dealers Thanksgiving Tournament at Truist Arena.
 
Aside from shooting percentages, the Islanders (1-4) were better in nearly every statistical category. They outrebounded the Sharks (2-4) by a 41-35 margin and held advantages in the paint 41-20, points off turnovers 15-5, second chance points 10-6, fast breaks 10-6 and bench scoring 34-28.
 
Though, A&M-Corpus Christi couldn't overcome a 23-of-64 (.359) mark from the field including 1-of-15 (.067) from long range. The three-point line was the biggest difference as LIU finished 12-of-29 (.414) from beyond-the-arc.
 
Junior Dian Wright-Forde got his first start of the year and made the most of it with a season-high 19 points. He was one of three to score in double-figures as junior Shilo Jackson turned in 10 points and six rebounds, while graduate Lance-Amir Paul also submitted 10 points and six rebounds.
 
Reaching double-digits in rebounding for the second game in a row was junior Garry Clark with 10. He was coming off a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds against NKU on Wednesday.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi tallied a positive turnover margin of +3 (14-11) and grabbed more steals than LIU. Wright-Forde grabbed a season-high three steals.
 
Senior Dayne Prim scored the first five points of the game including A&M-Corpus Christi's lone three-pointer to go up 5-0. Though, the Sharks scored the next six points to take an early 6-5 edge.
 
A pair of free throws by Paul had the Islanders trailing 14-13, but LIU answered with an 8-2 run to lead 22-15 at the 9:03 mark. The Sharks led by as many as 11 in the half, but two more free throws by Paul made it a 43-34 game at the intermission.
 
LIU led by 14 early in the second half when A&M-Corpus Christi tried to claw its way back in. Back-to-back field goals by Jackson, followed by a lay-up by sophomore Own Dease trimmed it to 50-45 with 14:27 left.
 
The closest the Islanders came in the second half was 54-51 after a driving lay-up by Wright-Forde with 11:42 to go. LIU responded with a 13-4 run to get its advantage back up to 67-55 with 7:05 remaining.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi will close out its five-game trip away from home Wednesday when it travels to UTEP for an 8 p.m. tip. The next home game is Wednesday, Dec. 6 when the Islanders host UTRGV at 7 p.m. at the American Bank Center in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union.
 
NOTES
- Wednesday was the first-ever meeting between A&M-Corpus Christi and LIU.
 
- It was the first and only neutral court game of the regular season. The Islanders are now 32-26 all-time on a neutral court and are 4-3 in the last two seasons.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi continued to showcase its depth as 10 student-athletes have scored and at least seven have grabbed a rebound in every game this season.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game ranked first in the Southland Conference in rebounding margin (+9.2) and outrebounded LIU 41-35.
 
- Wright-Forde surpassed his previous season-high of 16 points at Texas Tech. He was 8-of-16 from the floor as his eight field goals were also a season-high.
 
- Paul was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He registered his fourth double-digit scoring performance in the last five games.
 
- Jackson notched his second double-figure scoring game of the year after netting 12 points against Dallas Christian. Jackson was 4-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
 
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