CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Going ahead in the latter part of the second half by solidifying their lead with a 10-0 run, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi outlasted UT-Martin 81-77 Thursday night in the Dugan Wellness Center in the first matchup of the Island U Invitational.
A back-and-forth affair was settled with just under 10 minutes to play as the Islanders (2-3) took the final lead of the game to go on and finish on top of UT-Martin (2-3) in the four-point decision.
The Islanders ended the night shooting 51.8 percent from the field including 45.5 percent from beyond the arc off their season-high 10 made threes. The program is now 26-1 over the last four seasons with head coach
Jim Shaw on staff when shooting above .500.
It is the first time since back in January that the Islanders netted at least 10 three-pointers, and the first this season the Islanders shot above 33.3 percent from three.
The long-range attack was spread between just three Islanders, with senior
Jordan Roberts leading it going 4-for-6 while redshirt junior
Owen Dease and junior
Aaron Potter each sank three from deep.
They all ended the night in double figures, with Roberts leading the team with 16. Senior
Garry Clark and junior
Sheldon Williams also added double figures as five Islanders ended the night 10+ for the second time this year.
With his 15 points, Clark has continued his streak of scoring in double figures every game this year. Extending from last season, he has scored 10+ points in his last 11 games played.
It marks Roberts' first double figure scoring game of the season but 21
st in his career. Dease's 13 points got him his 18
th career double figure scoring game and second of the season. Potter and Williams both turned in their second double digit scoring game of the season.
Proving further tonight was a full team effort, the Islanders assisted on 24 of their 29 made field goals with nine different players recording an assist. It is the third time this season that the team had 20+ assists in a game.
It was the first meeting between the two programs.
The Islanders will look towards winning the Island U Invitational now, setting sights on Le Moyne Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT to close the weekend tournament.
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