HONOLULU, Hawai'i – After a slow first half that had both teams knotted at just 28 points by the intermission, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team couldn't match a Hawai'i team that came out of the break hot-handed to fall 71-62 Saturday night in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center.
The Islanders (6-5) entered the night averaging over 80 points per game, but Hawai'i (6-3) was able to halt them well below average to get past with the nine-point margin. A&M-Corpus Christi had scored above 70 points in its first eight games this year but have stayed within the 60s for its last three contests.
A&M-Corpus Christi has yet to post a negative turnover margin this year, keeping their turnovers to 12 tonight while the Rainbow Warriors conceded 16.
The Islanders got things started with the inside lay-in from redshirt junior
Stephen Giwa before Hawai'i knocked down their first bucket two and half minutes into play. Back-to-back driving takes from senior
Garry Clark and junior
Leo Torbor pulled the Islanders ahead 14-11 before junior
Shilo Jackson pushed it to a five-point lead with the putback at 9:18.
Jackson continued to create a cushion for A&M-Corpus Christi after a pair of three throws followed by the completed and-one at 7:22 for a 20-13 score. The Rainbow Warriors chipped within four with five minutes to go, but redshirt junior
Owen Dease upped it back up with the long-range shot for a 26-19 lead. Though, the Rainbow Warriors found a spark and the teams headed to the break tied 28-28.
That tie came from a short 4-0 spurt by Hawai'i, that blew up into a 13-0 unanswered run to begin the second half. The free throw from Dease finally broke the streak but the home team got up by 11 (42-31) at the 15:29 mark.
After a called timeout, freshman
Damarion Dennis stepped to the line and netted both his free throws before immediately forcing the turnover on Hawai'i's inbound before dishing it to Clark who got up for the flush to make it a seven-point game. The Islanders sped up and drove the lane for a couple of fastbreak buckets as senior
Dian Wright-Forde got them within a 43-41 deficit.
The teams would flirt with just a two-possession game before Hawai'i found the right looks down the stretch while the Islanders ran into foul trouble to end the night.
Clark still managed 11 points before fouling out, playing with foul trouble early on in the night. He has scored 10+ points in every game this year and extending from last season, he is on a 17-game streak of scoring in double figures.
Coming off the bench to match Clark was Jackson, who ended with 11 points as well. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line and led the team with six boards.
Dennis was also 100 percent from the charity strip, going 4-for-4 in his chances. He bulked his stat line with the addition of five rebounds, four steals, and a block on the night.
For Hawai'I, it was Ryan Rapp who couldn't be stopped as he ended with a game-leading 19 points. He had only four made threes entering the night on the season, and tonight he sank five from deep.
It was just the second ever meeting between the two programs.
The Islanders will return home for a morning matchup on Wednesday in the Dugan Wellness Center against Southwestern Adventist, tipping off at 11 a.m. for Education Day, presented by Whataburger.
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