CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team fended off Nicholls in a tight 61-57 victory Saturday at the American Bank Center to open its home weekend and get back in the win column.
In a battle between two of the top teams in the conference, it was sweet revenge for the Islanders (14-7, 7-2 SLC) who saw two losses to the Colonels (11-9, 5-4 SLC) last season including in overtime of the SLC Semifinals. They now gain a two-game lead in second place over Nicholls in the conference standings after outlasting them in tonight's closely fought contest that was separated by single digits nearly the whole time.
Other than a 40-40 tie midway through the second half, the Islanders never got behind the Colonels and led all the way to the end. It came at the hands of a defensive clash as neither team shot above 37.0 percent from the field. It is only the third time this season that the Islanders shot below 40.0 percent and first in over a month.
Junior
Kam Parker got things started with the first-possession three pointer to qualify the Islanders for a game-long lead. Nicholls stayed scoreless until three minutes in, which was quickly covered by the inside shot by senior
Garry Clark. Redshirt junior
Shilo Jackson netted the jumper to extend a 10-2 lead and force an early timeout from the visiting bench.
After Nicholls managed to put up a few more points from free throws, redshirt junior
Owen Dease nailed the long-range shot at 11:55 for the 13-6 lead. The Colonels began to contest A&M-Corpus Christi's advantage, fighting within one possession at 19-16, but a 7-2 scoring run to halftime had the Islanders ahead 26-18.
Two quick baskets from Nicholls out of the break weren't left unanswered long as the putback by redshirt junior
Stephen Giwa got the Islanders going in the second half. However, the Colonels slowly chipped away and suddenly their awarded and-one at 10:49 saw a tied 40-all game. It wasn't taken lightly as A&M-Corpus Christi found their earlier groove and rattled off eight straight points including a pair of buckets from senior
Jordan Roberts to create a 48-40 edge with 6:47 to go.
The Islanders led by at least two possessions for the next six minutes before a late steal and score from Nicholls got them within 56-53. Made free throws had the Islanders up 61-54 as the clock winded down, but Nicholls got a shot off in time and made its last chance three to shave off some the deficit from the final score.
Clark got it done on both ends of the court to the lead the Islanders, coming away with the 20-point, 10-rebound double-double. He is the first Islander to have 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game this year, and the first to do so since he accomplished it three times last season.
He accounted for nine of the team's 20 made field goals tonight as he has continued to score 10+ points in every game this season. Dating back to last year, he is on a 28-game streak of scoring in double figures, the longest active streak in the NCAA.
With another challenge on the horizon, the Islanders will take on McNeese Monday night at 7 p.m. in a battle of the top two teams in the league.
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