THIBODAUX, La. – It was a tale of two halves Monday night, as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team couldn't maintain their first half performance to fall in the second half to Nicholls in a slim 71-69 final.
The Islanders (17-13, 10-8 SLC) were rolling in the first half, shooting over 50.0 percent to hold a 36-28 advantage at the break. However, turnovers troubled the visiting team as Nicholls (18-11, 12-6 SLC) took advantage to strip the momentum and take away the 71-69 decision.
The Colonels also had a lot of help from the free throw line, going 25-of-37 while the Islanders were only given 25 shots at the charity strip. On the glass, the teams were even with 30 rebounds apiece.
A highlight for the Islanders, however, was senior
Garry Clark surpassing 1,000 points in his career. He needed seven and ended with 17 to now record 1,010.
Clark got going early with the three-ball on the first offensive touch for the Islanders. They converted on their next two possessions before
Leo Torbor drove the lane for a 10-4 advantage.
Stephen Giwa was hot early, getting up for the flush at 14:59 to up it to 12-6 and
Owen Dease piled it on with a long-range shot at 12:15 for a 21-7 lead.
Nicholls managed to sneak back within four before Clark drew the foul to shoot a pair from the line to reach his 1,000
th career point and get some momentum back on the visitor's side.
Jaden Walker drew the second chance and-one for a 31-19 cushion before a five-minute drought plagued the Islanders. The Colonels would only put up five within that time, and Walker hammered home the slam dunk at 1:01 before the half to help hold a 36-28 advantage at the break.
The energy shifted in the second half, however, with Nicholls eliminating their deficit within the first five minutes and even taking their first lead of the night at 43-40. Walker went deep to finally break the skid and tie things back up and there ensued a back-and-forth with over 14 minutes left on the clock.
Nicholls held onto an edge until consecutive lay-ins from
Dian Wright-Forde tied the game up at 50-all with 10:00 to go. The Colonels shot back ahead but Torbor sank his two free throws before getting to the rim to reverse the lead late 64-63. It wouldn't hold, though, despite a last second three by Dease cutting it within two, time ran out as Nicholls escaped with the 71-69 win.
It marked Clark's 29
th double figure scoring game this year, scoring 10+ points in all but one contest. He was joined in double digits by three others, with Wright-Forde coming off the bench for 12 while Giwa and Walker both ended at 11.
It wrapped up the road schedule for the Islanders, who will close out the regular season at home Saturday against Southeastern and next Monday against New Orleans.
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