Islanders Move Into First-Place Tie with Big Road Win at Southeastern

HAMMOND, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program pounced on Southeastern in the first half and then closed it out in the second for an 83-72 victory Saturday in a nationally televised game on ESPNews at the University Center.
 
It was a wire-to-wire win for the Islanders (15-8, 8-3 SLC), who got it done on both ends of the floor in the first half to build a 20-point lead at the intermission. The Lions (14-10, 8-3 SLC) tried to get back in it in the second but A&M-Corpus Christi maintained a double-digit lead the whole way.
 
With the victory, the Islanders moved into at least a two-way tie for first-place in the Southland Conference standings. Northwestern State could make it a three-way tie with a win today.
 
The Islanders committed just one turnover in the first half, shot .500 from the floor and limited SLU to a .321 clip. A&M-Corpus Christi also outrebounded the Lions 27-15 in the first half and 44-28 for the game – it led to a 21-2 edge in second chance points on the day.
 
Senior Terrion Murdix, the reigning SLC Player of the Week winner, poured in a career-high 23 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists. He was 9-of-18 from the field.
 
Murdix was one of five Islanders to score in double-figures. Senior Trevian Tennyson registered 16 points and seven rebounds. Graduated Ross Williams tallied 11 points off the bench.
 
Also with 11 points was senior Jalen Jackson, who also grabbed three steals. Senior De'Lazarus Keys rounded it out with 10 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Islanders controlled the paint where they outscored the Lions 42-26.
 
SLU was paced by Roger McFarlane's 28 points and eight rebounds. He was 5-of-8 from three. Nick Caldwell and Boogie Anderson ended with 14 points apiece.
 
The Islanders opened the game on a 7-0 run after lay-ups by Murdix and senior Simeon Fryer were sandwiched around a three by Tennyson. A jumper by Keys sparked an 11-0 run, capped by a three by Tennyson to extend it to 25-10 at the 8:37 mark.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi kept rolling and a driving lay-up by Williams upped it to 38-21 with 4:30 remaining. The Islanders held for the last shot of the half and converted on a lay-in by Murdix to carry a 48-28 edge into the locker room.
 

Murdix caps off a big half for the Islanders with a lay-up in the closing seconds. Islanders lead 48-28 at the intermission.#ShakasUp // #LutzGo pic.twitter.com/T9bcKvutSD

— Islanders Men's Basketball (@Islanders_MBB) February 4, 2023

SLU opened the second half on fire and hit four three-pointers to quickly trim it to 53-40 with 16:41 to go. The Lions got it down to 56-45 when freshman Owen Dease, Murdix and Keys answered with field goals to get it back up to 62-45 with 12:24 left.
 
Another six straight by the Islanders made it 68-47 after a put-back by Dease at the 9:46 mark.
 
The Lions made one last push in the final nine minutes. A 9-0 run cut the deficit to 72-60 with 5:25 left, but SLU never got it into single figures. A&M-Corpus Christi made free throws down the stretch to stay ahead.
 
Up next, the Islanders return to the American Bank Center to host HCU at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
 
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 14-10 all-time against SLU. Saturday was a rematch of the SLC Championship last year, which the Islanders won 73-65 to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
- SLU's biggest scoring run was nine consecutive points. The Islanders remained one of just five teams in the nation to only allow a scoring run of 10 or more points one time this season.
 
- With a 44-28 rebounding advantage, A&M-Corpus Christi has outrebounded 10 of 11 SLC opponents this season.
 
- The Islanders are now 152-127 all-time against SLC opponents since joining the league in 2006-07.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi entered the game ranked 11th in the country in free throw percentage (.774) and was 15-of-18 (.833). The Islanders were also 21st in the nation in scoring (80.5 ppg). Individually, senior Isaac Mushila entered the day ranked 22nd nationally in rebounding (9.7) and pulled down his 26th career double-digit rebounding performance and 10th this year.
 
- Murdix surpassed his previous career-high of 21 points set three times, most recently at UIW on Jan. 7. It was his fifth career 20-plus scoring performance, 33rd career double-figure scoring game and 16th this year.
 
- Over the last 10 games, Tennyson is 43-of-79 (.544) from three-point range. He's scored in double-figures in all 11 conference games. Tennyson submitted his 39th career double-digit scoring outing and 19th this year.
 
- Jackson turned in his 13th career double-figure scoring game and sixth this year. He was 4-of-8 from the field and tied his season-high with three steals.
 
- Williams notched his 12th double-digit scoring affair of the year. He was 5-of-9 from the floor and hit a three.
 
- Keys posted his 19th career double-figure scoring game and third this season. He hit 4-of-7 shots and pulled down seven rebounds.
 


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#ShakasUp