CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Never trailing in their first game back home in over two weeks, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team rolled from start to finish to defeat Southeastern 68-56 Saturday in the Hilliard Center.
The Islanders (10-8, 6-3 SLC) jumped out early and never fell behind, building a 20-point halftime lead and controlling the pace the rest of the way. It marked a strong return home after two weeks away as the program improves to 35-5 at home overall since head coach
Jim Shaw took over ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The Islanders improved to 7-0 this season when holding their opponents to under 60 points. The program remains undefeated when doing so over the last five seasons, improving to 34-0 overall and 17-0 in conference play since the 2021-22 season.
A&M-Corpus Christi also held a 32-27 advantage on the boards. The Islanders entered the game leading the league in opponent rebounds, keeping their opponents to just 30.0 rebounds per game as they held Southeastern right under that average.
The bench also provided a major boost, outscoring Southeastern Louisiana 33–16. 10 different Islanders saw at least 10 minutes of playing time today.
Nicholas Shogbonyo opened the game with a three-pointer just 29 seconds in, and the Islanders quickly set the tone. At the 16:37 mark of the first half, Shogbonyo knocked down another triple to make it 6–0 and
Cenker Evran scored inside at 15:50 to push the lead to 8–0. Devon
Kobi Pearson added a transition three at 14:14 to stretch the margin to 11–2 and the Islanders continued to capitalize while
Franck Yetna's putback layup at 5:32 made it 27–13.
With 4:53 remaining in the half, Yetna finished a dunk off a drop from
Leo Torbor, extending the lead to 29–13.
Bryson Wheatfall followed with a second-chance three at 3:47, and A&M–Corpus Christi closed the half on a strong run to take a 38–18 lead into the break.
The Islanders opened the second half with back-to-back fast-break layups by Torbor at 19:30 and 18:29, pushing the lead to 42–18. Evran added a putback at 17:45 to give A&M–Corpus Christi its largest lead of the game at 44–18.
Southeastern responded midway through the half, trimming the margin to 45–32. The Islanders answered with the long-range shot by
Kam Parker at 11:37 to restore a 50–27 advantage and they closed out the game without allowing the lead to dip below double digits.
A&M–Corpus Christi was led by Shogbonyo, who scored 14 points and hit three triples. Yetna added eight points and three rebounds, while Evran chipped in seven points and four rebounds off the bench. Wheatfall scored nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night.
The Islanders will welcome McNeese Monday at 3 p.m. to round out the home weekend. Next Saturday will see the Islanders head to UIW before returning home again for their next three contests after.
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