CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team held off Northwestern State down the stretch to cap another undefeated home weekend with the 72-61 win Monday night at the American Bank Center.
The Islanders (16-10, 9-4 SLC) held a 14-point lead at the intermission that extended to 20 halfway through the second half before Northwestern State () tried stringing together a late rally. The Demons got within six with 1:15 remaining, but a crucial and-one opportunity from redshirt sophomore
Stephen Giwa helped stave off the comeback as the Islanders made the stop down the stretch.
It was a well-spread offense that featured 16 assists on their 23 made buckets, including five from graduate
Marion Humphrey. He also grabbed two steals to aid in the 17 points off turnovers for the Islanders who also got the jump for 25 fastbreak points while slowing the Demons to just four in transition.
Junior
Jordan Roberts had an outstanding performance scoring his career-high 22 points, showcasing his hot hand by going 3-7 from beyond the arc. Junior
Dian Wright-Forde also made a significant offensive contribution finishing with 21 points.
Roberts went coast-to-coast to open the game at 18:30 as it took time for the Islanders to find a rhythm. Junior
Garry Clark looked to spearhead that momentum with the early and-one but the Demons would keep it knotted at 7-7. From there, Northwestern State would stay in striking distance before Roberts sank the long-range shot at 10:33 to create some space for a 19-12 lead.
After some trips to the stripe, junior
Tedrick Washington Jr. got the floor heated back up with the three-point shot at 8:01 to extend A&M-Corpus Christi lead to 25-14. Giwa then got up for the hammer home at 5:14 as the Islanders went up 31-17 before the shot from downtown by redshirt sophomore
Owen Dease pushed it to 38-22 with a minute remaining in the half.
The Islanders stayed ahead by double figures for the majority of the second, taking their biggest lead of the game at 59-39 after the steal-and-score by Wright-Forde with 9:54 on the clock. Roberts kept A&M-Corpus Christi ahead by two dozen at 8:38 with the three, but Northwestern State would respond with a 16-2 scoring run to threaten within two possessions with just over a minute remaining.
Out of the timeout, Giwa then reassured the team with the tough lay-in where he drew the foul for the three-point play to push them back up by nine. It was then Wright-Forde who drove down the lane for the layup with 20 seconds remaining to help secure the double figure win margin.
With the win, the Islanders have now officially secured their spot in the SLC Tournament, set for March 10-13 in Lake Charles, La. There, they will look to defend their crown after going back-to-back in 2022 and 2023 to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
A&M-Corpus Christi will now just fight for seeding with just five games remaining in the regular season. They will complete their final road trip of conference play this weekend, going to face Lamar and HCU before returning home for the final three.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi is now 18-7 all-time over Northwestern State and has not lost a home game to the Demons since 2014-15. In last year's home meeting, the Islanders defeated Northwestern State 83-75 to clinch the SLC Regular Season trophy.
- The Islanders are 30-2 over the last two seasons when holding the opposition to 70 points or less. They have held 10 Southland opponents to less than 70 points this year.
- It is just the second time this year that the Islanders had two players score 20+ points in a game, and Wright-Forde has been a part of both instances after he and graduate
Lance-Amir Paul scored 20+ points each against UTRGV back on Dec. 6.
- Roberts submitted his first-ever 20+ scoring game of his career, topping his previous best of 19 set at UTRGV earlier this season. His eight made field goals is also a career-high which was previously set at seven twice. He has scored in double figures 10 times this year, 16 times in his career, and seven in SLC play this season.
- Wright-Forde registered his third 20+ scoring game of the year, two points shy of his season-best 23 set twice earlier this year. He was scored 10+ points 13 times this year, three times in a row, and seven in league play.
- With 11 rebounds, Clark has either recorded 10+ points or 10+ rebounds in 11 SLC game this season. He leads the team in both with 12.1 ppg and 8.2 rpg.
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