AUSTIN, Texas – Rarely trailing by more than 10 points, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team fell to No. 19 Texas 71-55 Friday afternoon in the Moody Center.
The Islanders (6-6) hung tough with the nationally ranked Longhorns (9-2) who outscored A&M-Corpus Christi by 10 down the stretch for the 16-point finish. A&M-Corpus Christi stayed within single digits for the majority of the game and was down by only six at 59-53 with under five minutes left before Texas used a late push.
Though, the Islanders did score 12 points off turnovers compared to Texas's six points after posting a +3.0-turnover margin. A&M-Corpus Christi matched Texas in both paint points (26) and second chance points (10)
Junior
Dian Wright-Forde led the Islanders with 10 points, contributing to their 33 points off the bench. Junior
Garry Clark neared double figures with nine as one of 10 Islanders to score against the Longhorns. Junior
Tedrick Washington Jr. and redshirt senior
Dayne Prim each added eight points.
Prim played a team-high 30 minutes, also recording four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Texas was paced by four starters scoring in double figures, including a 17-point performance from its leading scorer Max Abmas. The Longhorns ended the day shooting 48.1 percent from the field.
Prim drew the early shooting foul to put two on the board, as the Islanders held a 2-0 lead after keeping the Longhorns scoreless the first two minutes of the game. Sophomore
Stephen Giwa laid it in at 17:38 for the 4-2 advantage before Texas reversed the score for a 13-6 lead. Though, A&M-Corpus Christi answered with a 7-0 run itself as Washington opened it with the three-point field goal. Clark then knocked down the long two to tie things up at 13 with 12:09 on the clock.
Texas was able to create some separation out of its timeout, but Jackson kept the Islanders within six 23-17 after sinking the floater at 8:24. Another run got the Longhorns out to a 31-19 before Wright-Forde drilled the three-pointer to cut the lead back down to single digits.
The Islanders kept the Longhorns scoreless for the next three minutes, but Clark's inside shot was met by two more Texas buckets in the final 90 seconds of the half as the teams went to the break with a 35-24 score.
Junior
Jordan Roberts opened the second with the jumper to get back within nine early. Sophomore
Kam Parker drove at 18:11 before Wright-Forde drilled a three on the takeaway as the Islanders trailed just 39-31. Texas knocked down back-to-back threes to get back up to 46-32 before Washington and Wright-Forde each scored to make it a 10-point game again at the 14:13 media timeout.
Despite going down 52-37, A&M-Corpus Christi continued to chip as the transition dunk by sophomore
Owen Dease sparked some energy from the Blue and Green. Clark went deep for three at 9:57 to make it 52-42 and the and-one on the put-back by Parker had the Islanders trail by seven with 7:57 to go.
The Islanders trailed just 56-51 at 6:51 following the pair of free throws from Prim. He then connected with Clark who laid it in with 4:51 remaining to keep the Islanders close at 59-53, though, Texas found some momentum and ended on a 12-2 run to close out the 71-55 game.
The Islanders will take a week off before returning home to host Schreiner on Dec. 30 in the Dugan Wellness Center.
NOTES
- It was the fifth all-time meeting between A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas, and first since the 2015-16 season.
- It was A&M-Corpus Christi's third Big 12 opponent of the season and second ranked opponent after facing Texas Tech and No. 7 Houston earlier this year.
- The Islanders held Texas to just 35 points in the first half. They are one of three teams to hold the Longhorns to 35 or less points in half this year, along with No. 5 UConn and No. 8 Marquette.
- At least seven Islanders have recorded a rebound in every game this year.
- Wright registered his sixth double figure scoring game of the year and third in the last five games. He was one of three Islanders averaging 10+ points per game on the season entering today.
- Prim set his career-high of assists in a game with four. His previous best was three, last set in this year's season opener against Southwestern Adventist.
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