HOUSTON, Texas – Creating separation in the first half, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team used a steady pace to earn an 81-65 win over Houston Christian on Monday night at Sharp Gymnasium.
The Islanders (8-7, 4-2 SLC) picked up their third straight conference win and second on the road this weekend after notching a narrow win at UTRGV on Saturday. This one was done through creating extra opportunities through turnovers and second chance balls, where the Islanders scored a combined 43 of their points. The bench also contributed 45 points as 12 different Islanders got on the board tonight.
The Islanders won the rebounding battle 38-29. The Islanders are 8-2 this year when outrebounding their opponent. Over the last five years, the program is now 44-17 when pulling down more rebounds than a conference opponent. They are additionally now 35-5 in conference play when holding their opponent to under 70 points.
Both teams took a bit to settle in but HCU struck first at 18:43 before the Islanders answered quickly as
Sheldon Williams scored inside at 16:31 and
Leo Torbor followed with a layup at 16:05 to give A&M-Corpus Christi a 4-2 lead. Nicholas Shogbonyo added a second-chance basket at 15:05, and
Mason Gibson hit his first three of the night at 7:10 to push the Islanders in front 18-17.
A&M-Corpus Christi pulled away late in the half. Gibson knocked down another triple at 3:26 to make it 31-25 and a minute later, Torbor finished a fast-break dunk off the steal at 2:23. DA Houston capped a 17-2 run with a transition triple at :49 as the Islanders took a 41-27 lead into halftime.
The Huskies opened the second half with an early basket, but Gibson answered at 18:21 to keep the Islanders in control. Williams scored inside at 16:04, and Torbor added a basket at 14:38 to extend the lead to 54-41. Williams followed with a second-chance score at 12:54, and Gibson hit a jumper at 12:13 to make it 60-45.
Franck Yetna got up for a dunk at 9:21 to stretch the margin to 64-48. Williams later connected from outside the arc this time at 3:34 to give A&M-Corpus Christi its largest lead at 77-57.
Trenton Pane scored twice in the final minute as the Islanders closed out the 81-65 road victory.
Gibson and Williams matched each other with 16 points apiece with the former going deep three times tonight. It is Gibson's seventh double figure scoring game of the season and 10th game netting multiple three-pointers. Williams went 7-for-10 from the field and pulled down seven rebounds.
Houston went for 12 points off the bench after nearly a perfect shooting night, going 5-for-6 from the floor with just one missed three where he made a pair regardless. Yetna started for eight points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals and Torbor tallied six points and four assists.
The Islanders will continue on the road next weekend, heading to Northwestern State Saturday before circling back in-state to East Texas A&M for next Monday, where they will look to improve on a 3-1 road record in conference play.
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