ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team ran an effective offense but couldn't slow New Mexico on the other end as the Islanders fell 100-81 Tuesday night at The Pit.
The Islanders (1-2) matched up well offensively as they shot 52.7 percent from the field compared to New Mexico's (3-0) 53.2 shooting night. Ultimately, though, it was a defensive struggle that saw the Lobos win that fight as they forced A&M-Corpus Christi to turn the ball over 22 times to outscore them off turnovers by nearly double at 31-16.
It is the first time since head coach
Jim Shaw has been on staff that the Islanders lost despite shooting over 50.0 percent from the field. The team was previously an unbeaten 25-0 over the last four seasons when shooting that high of a mark.
The Islanders did, however, held a slight rebounding advantage over the Lobos at 39-37 including 30-26 on the defensive glass.
The Islanders converted early after winning the tip, with senior
Garry Clark netting a turnaround jumper on the first possession. New Mexico went ahead with the made three on their first attempted shot but was covered with the long range goal by Clark on the other end. The early back-and-forth had the Islanders still fighting in front with the shot in the paint from junior
Sheldon Williams but an 11-0 scoring run from the Lobos helped the home team take control.
The and-one by senior
Dian Wright-Forde at 2:57 capped a mini scoring run for the Islanders near the end of the first to make it a 14-point game, but New Mexico still held a 49-34 edge at the break.
A&M-Corpus Christi powered a 47-point second half to counter their opening 20-minute performance, and even strung a 6-0 run over a span of just 44 seconds after freshman
Damarion Dennis followed his three-pointer with an inside lay-in within the frame. However, with just under two minutes to play, New Mexico stifled anymore momentum to close the night.
Redshirt junior
Owen Dease turned in the 11-point, 7-rebound, 7-assist stat sheet tonight, with his seven assists is a new career high which topped his previous best of five set at Southeastern back on January 15, 2024. It marks his second double figure scoring game of the season already.
With 19 points tonight, Clark has scored at least 10 points in every game so far this year and now has 27 double figure scoring games as an Islander. Extending from the end of 2023-24, Clark is on a 10-game streak of scoring 10+ points.
It was the first ever meeting between the two programs.
The Islanders will continue their road trip in the neighboring state, next heading down to face New Mexico State Thursday at 8:30 p.m. before returning home Nov. 21-23 for the Island U Invitational.
#ShakasUp
