CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M–Corpus Christi men's basketball team nearly authored one of their greatest comebacks of the season Monday night, storming back from a 24-point deficit before falling 78-68 to SFA at the Hilliard Center.
After shooting just 21.9 percent in the first half and trailing 37-16 at the break, the Islanders erupted for 52 second-half points, trimming the margin to six with 8:23 remaining. But despite outscoring SFA in the paint (36-34) and getting 36 points from their bench, A&M-Corpus Christi could not complete the rally before time ran out.
The Islanders struggled to find rhythm early as SFA opened on a 15-5 run and held them scoreless for long stretches. The Islanders managed a late push behind
Nick Shogbonyo's fast-break three and a pair of inside finishes from
Sheldon Williams, but still trailed 37-16 at intermission.
SFA pushed the margin to its largest at 40-16 just 13 seconds into the second half but that's when the Islanders started a push. Williams sparked the surge with back-to-back finishes in the paint, and
Leo Torbor converted a pair of driving layups off turnovers to cut the deficit to 44-27 with 16:09 to play. Shogbonyo followed with a three-point play at 15:06 to bring the Islanders within 12.
The physicality intensified as both teams traded fouls and bodies in the lane.
Franck Yetna muscled in a turnaround jumper at 14:23 and then went deep at 12:25 before
Daniel Michelini-Jackson followed with a triple of his own, drawing the and-one from beyond the arc for the four-point play. Shogbonyo connected from long range at 9:14 to trim the margin to nine.
The home crowd came alive at the 8:23 mark when Shogbonyo buried a second-chance triple to pull the Islanders within 59-53, capping a 10-2 run and completing a 37-point turnaround from the early deficit. and
Cenker Evran added a putback at 3:03 to keep the pressure on at 69-60 but each time A&M-Corpus Christi threatened, SFA answered as the Islanders ran out of time with the Lumberjacks closing the final minutes at the line.
Shogbonyo led with 14 points off the back of three second-half three-pointers while Williams added 12 points and seven rebounds. Yetna contributed eight points and five boards, and Michelini-Jackson chipped in seven points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
The Islanders now enter the final stretch of the regular season with just two weekends left of four games. They will hit the road to another top team in McNeese Saturday, which will be nationally televised on ESPN2 before finishing their road games at Southeastern next Monday.
#ShakasUp
