HAMMOND, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team came up big down the stretch in a back-and-forth battle at Southeastern Saturday to finish with the 80-71 conference victory in the University Center.
The Islanders (9-6, 2-1 SLC) won the second half by 14 points after entering halftime in a deficit to come out victorious in a game that featured 17 lead changes. The final reversal came with over eight minutes to play and despite Southeastern (6-8, 0-3 SLC) fighting to keep a one-possession game, a 6-0 run in last minute sealed a 80-71 win for the away team.
Freshman
Isaac Williams came back from injury in a big way, making his return known with the game-leading 23 points after going 9-for-12 from the field. 20 of those points all came in the second half including connecting with the net to give the Islanders that final lead change.
It is the first time an Islander scored 20+ in a half since teammate
Garry Clark did so last season on Dec. 15 against UTRGV, scoring 22 in the second half.
The Islanders shot an even 50.0 percent from the field, their ninth time this year shooting at least that high of a mark. Entering today, there have only been seven other teams in the country to have nine games shooting 50.0+ percent this season. The Islanders improve to 32-1 (9-0 SLC) over the last four seasons when hitting that 50.0+ percent mark.
Redshirt junior
Stephen Giwa got to double figures in the first half alone, scoring the first points of the day for the Islanders with the tough shot at the rim to answer a pair of Southeastern free throws. The Lions would get out 6-2 at 17:07 until Williams made his way back to the court to net a long-range shot to make it a 6-5 game.
The flush by Giwa gave A&M-Corpus Christi the 7-6 lead but the testy contest had its share of lead changes with the putback by senior
Garry Clark altering the score again to get the Islanders up 19-18. The Lions reversed it once more, however, posting an unanswered 7-0 run to hold the advantage the rest of the half for a 40-35 score at the break.
The Islanders came out of the half determined, rattling off a 10-2 run to jump in front at 45-42. The back-and-forth didn't end there
It wasn't until the clock read 8:23 that a lead would stick as Williams netted the free throw to make it a 58-57 game. The Lions didn't let up but threes from Williams and redshirt junior
Owen Dease made it feel sealed before freshman
Damarion Dennis really put a stamp on the victory with the dunk on the final possession.
Dease, who also missed the last few games, came off the bench as another offensive weapon to end with 15 points. It marks his fifth double figure scoring game of the year and the 21
st of his career.
Clark ended the night with the double-double at 15 points and his career-high 16 rebounds. It is his second double-double of the year and 12
th as an Islander, but he extends his double-figure scoring streak to 21 games dating back to last year, the second-longest active streak in the NCAA behind Treysen Eaglestaff of North Dakota (22).
The Islanders will continue their trip in the Boot State and head down to New Orleans to face the Privateers Monday at 6:30 p.m.
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