LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team couldn't overcome a late slump in the second half, falling to McNeese Saturday night 73-57 in the Legacy Center.
Becoming typical of this matchup, the Islanders (17-12, 10-7 SLC) and Cowboys (22-6, 16-1 SLC) found a fast pace from the jump in a testy back-and-forth. However, McNeese caught fire in the second while slowing A&M-Corpus Christi down to take the contest.
While both teams shot comfortably over 40.0 percent from the field, the biggest game changer was McNeese's advantage on the boards as they outrebounded the Islanders 43-26, including 20-10 on the offensive glass where the Cowboys were able to convert 20 second chance points.
Kam Parker set the tone early, nailing the three-pointer on the Islanders' first possession before it was covered by McNeese to onset yet another back-and-forth contest between the two squads. Consecutive lay ins from
Garry Clark and
Leo Torbor had the Islanders up 7-5 before the Cowboys answered back with a 6-0 scoring run to possess the lead.
The Islanders kept it within two possessions until McNeese found a burst to shoot up by 26-16 at 5:12. A pair of layups from
Owen Dease helped get the Islanders back into it, before the steal from
Stephen Giwa and score from
Dian Wright-Forde got it down to a three-point game at 28-25. The and-one from Wright-Forde cut it even closer and Dease nailed the jumper to tie it up at 30-all, erasing the earlier double figure deficit. However, the Cowboys found a last-minute field goal to hold the 32-30 edge at the break.
The Islanders would replenish a lead in the second half as Clark and Giwa traded buckets for a 34-32 advantage. McNeese quickly knotted the game back before Clark showed his depth by releasing one beyond the three-point line to up it back to 37-34. Their momentum would get stifled from there, as the Cowboys catapulted ahead to get up by double digits again at 49-39 with 12:17 to go.
Parker attempted to match his earlier tone with the long-range shot to chip in but McNeese continued to capitalize on some untimely turnovers from the visiting squad to round out a 73-57 decision.
Clark led all scorers with 17 points off seven made field goals. He has scored 10+ points in all but one contest this year. Joining him in double figures was Dease, who returned to the court after retiring early in A&M-Corpus Christi's last game with a statement 11 points.
The Islanders will wrap up its final regular season road trip Monday when they go for the season sweep over Nicholls at 6:30 p.m.
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