LAKE CHARLES, La. – Punching its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program defeated Northwestern State 75-71 on Wednesday in the championship game of the Southland Conference Tournament at the Legacy Center.
Â
The top-seeded Islanders (23-10, 14-4 SLC) erased a 16-point first-half deficit to tie it at halftime and shot .680 from the field in the second to beat the second-seeded Demons (22-11, 13-5 SLC). A&M-Corpus Christi had to overcome adversity after SLC Defensive Player of the Year and All-Conference First-Team selection
Terrion Murdix left the game due to injury just three minutes into the game.
Â
A&M-Corpus Christi won its fifth conference title in school history and third in the last two seasons after winning back-to-back SLC Tournaments and the 2023 regular season crown. The Islanders will enter the NCAA Tournament having won 12 of their last 13 games.
Â
The Islanders led 72-71 with 24 seconds when senior
De'Lazarus Keys pulled down a big offensive rebound, which led to a tough runner in the lane by senior
Trevian Tennyson. A&M-Corpus Christi got a stop defensively on the other end, and senior
Jalen Jackson hit a free throw with five seconds left to put the game away.
Â
Jackson stepped up in-place of Murdix and was named the SLC Tournament MVP. He was tabbed to the All-Tournament team along with Tennyson. Jackson netted a team and season-high 17 points to go along with six assists.
Â
A huge contribution came from freshman
Owen Dease off the bench. He poured in a career-high 16 points and hit four three-pointers. Dease also secured a career-high seven rebounds and helped the Islanders outscore the Demons 30-2 in bench points.
Â
Tennyson, an All-Conference Second-Team honoree, finished with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Senior
Isaac Mushila, who was tabbed to the All-Conference First-Team, neared a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Â
For the game, A&M-Corpus Christi shot .574 from the field and .438 from long-range. On the flip side, the Demons were .452 from the floor and .368 from beyond-the-arc.
Â
Northwestern State was carried by SLC Player of the Year Demarcus Sharp who ended with 32 points and seven assists. He was 15-of-31 from the field.
Â
The Demons came out of the gates on fire and started ahead 11-4 after a trio of threes. NWST extended it to 22-8 after a 9-0 run at the 11:34 mark. NWST's largest lead of the game was 26-10 with 9:46 to go.
Â
A&M-Corpus Christi came storming back in the first half as a drive by freshman
Jourdyn Grandberry trimmed it to 26-16. After a three-point play by the Demons, the Islanders answered with a 9-0 spurt which included a transition dunk and three-pointer by Dease to make it 29-25 with 5:02 left.
Â
A lay-up by Jackson drew the Islanders within one 31-30, and the final point of the half was a free throw by Mushila to knot it at 31-31 at the intermission.
Â
Keys opened the scoring in the second half with a mid-range jumper to give A&M-Corpus Christi a 33-31 lead. Another basket by Keys kept the Islanders in front 48-45 with 10:58 left.
Â
After the Demons evened it 52-52 at the 8:15 mark, the Islanders garnered threes from Mushila and graduate
Ross Williams to go back up 60-54 with 6:32 remaining. A fast-break lay-up by Jackson upped it to 72-64 with 1:36 to go.
Â
NWST didn't go down easy and forced turnovers with its press to get the ball back and cut it to 72-71 with 56 seconds left. Though, the Islanders answered with a second-chance bucket by Tennyson, a stop defensively and a free throw by Jackson to end it.
Â
A&M-Corpus Christi will now wait for Selection Sunday to learn its seeding for the NCAA Tournament. The selection show begins at 5 p.m. on CBS.
Â
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi became the first school to win the SLC Tournament in back-to-back years since UL-Monroe in 1992-94 (tournament titles were vacated from Stephen F. Austin in 2015 and 2016).
Â
- Lutz, the SLC Coach of the Year, improved to 46-22 in his career in two seasons and 5-0 in the SLC Tournament. He's won 23 games in each of the last two seasons. Lutz was named a finalist for the 2022-23 Skip Prosser Man of the Year award, presented to those who not only achieve success on the court but who display moral integrity off of it as well.
Â
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 13-9 all-time in SLC Tournament games and 3-2 in the championship. Prior to today, the only time the Islanders and the Demons had met in the SLC Tournament was the finals in 2006-07, which A&M-Corpus Christi won 81-78.
Â
- The Islanders completed a three-game season sweep over NWST. They are now 16-7 all-time against the Demons and 5-1 under Lutz, who does not have a losing record against and SLC opponent.
Â
- After outrebounding 16 of 18 opponents in conference, the Islanders outrebounded the Demons 33-28.
Â
- A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 17-0 in two seasons under Lutz when shooting over 50 percent from the field.
Â
- NWST's biggest scoring run was nine consecutive points. The Islanders only gave up a scoring run of 10 or more consecutive points one time in conference and just twice on the entire season.
Â
- A&M-Corpus Christi advanced to the championship after beating McNeese 80-63 in the semifinals as Keys tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Islanders went 3-0 against the Cowboys this year and have won 16 consecutive meetings dating back to 2013.
Â
- Jackson topped his previous season-high of 16 points at UTEP and was two points shy of his career-high 19 vs. Denver on Nov. 17, 2021. His seven made field goals tied a career-high. Jackson averaged 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game for the tournament to earn SLC Tournament MVP. It was his 16th career double-figure scoring game and ninth this year.
Â
- Tennyson averaged 15.0 points over the two games to earn a spot on the SLC All-Tournament Team. He registered his 48th career double-digit scoring performance, 28th this year and 20th in a row after doing so in every conference game.
Â
- Dease surpassed his previous career-high of 13 points at Nicholls on Feb. 16. He was 6-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from long distance for his fourth double-figure scoring game of the year.
Â
- Mushila, who led the league in rebounding, was one away from his 13th double-double of the season. He notched his 45th career double-figure scoring game and 21st this season.
SLC All-Tournament Team
Jalen Jackson, A&M-Corpus Christi (MVP)
Trevian Tennyson, A&M-Corpus Christi
Demarcus Sharp, Northwestern State
Jalen Hampton, Northwestern State
Christian Shumate, McNeese
Stay Social
For all the latest on Islanders Men's Basketball, be sure to follow the team on Twitter (
@Islanders_MBB), Instagram (
@IslandersMBB) and "like" the team's official Facebook page (
IslandersMBB).
Â
#ShakasUp
Â
