CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Men’s Basketball Runs Away with 86-63 Win over A&M-Commerce
The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team pulled away from Texas A&M-Commerce in the second half to take over complete control for an 86-63 decision Saturday at the American Bank Center.
The Islanders (15-10, 8-4 SLC) came out firing and ended hot the whole way, turning in a season-high 59.0 shooting from the field as they tamed the Lions (9-17, 3-10 SLC) to just a 39.6 clip. A&M-Corpus Christi also doubled up on A&M-Commerce on the glass, outrebounding the Lions 39-18.
The Islanders dominated the paint where they outscored the Lions 46-26. They also jumped out quick in transition for 12 fastbreak points while the defense slowed A&M-Commerce to none.
Junior Garry Clark contributed greatly to the fiery offense, ending with 24 points off the back of an 11-of-12 night from the floor. He was joined in double figures by redshirt senior Dayne Prim (18) and redshirt sophomore Owen Dease (11). Prim ended the night with the double-double after pulling down 10 rebounds.
The Islanders kicked off the game with a hot start in the paint as Clark ignited momentum with some early baskets driving tight to the hoop, though, the Lions played close the whole time. Up 12-10, Prim fought for a pair of putbacks before Dease ran the floor to take the Islanders up 18-10 at 12:02.
Redshirt sophomore Stephen Giwa got up for the slam at 9:02 to stamp a 26-13 lead. Roberts then caught fire with a pair of three-pointers as the Islanders built a 36-26 lead with four minutes to go in the half before Wright-Forde pushed it up by two more with the late jumper.
Dease got out fast for the long-range shot to start the second and Giwa's third chance bucket made it a 51-36 game with 17:45 to go. A&M-Commerce chipped back within two possession at 10:02, but the Islanders powered back up to 62-53 following Prim's and-one on the putback. From there, A&M-Corpus Christi continued to fire as junior Tedrick Washington Jr. converted on the offensive board before going deep in the next possession to push it to a 77-61 game with 4:10 remaining.
The Islanders will close out the home weekend against Northwestern State Monday at 7 p.m. With six games remaining in the regular season, the Islanders will play four of them on their home court.
First Half Dominance Propels A&M-Corpus Christi Past A&M-Commerce 86-69
Finding a rhythm early, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team cruised to an 86-69 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday at the American Bank Center.
It caps an undefeated home weekend for the Islanders (17-7, 10-3 SLC) and the season sweep over the Lions (11-13, 6-8 SLC). It was a first-half onslaught for the Islanders, who amassed 45 points after assisting on 17 of their 20 made field goals. By the break, senior Mireia Aguado herself had dished out eight assists.
It helped Aguado finish with 12 assists, the first Islander to record 10+ assists in a game in 10 years when Alissa Campanero registered 12 against HCU (Houston Baptist at the time) on March 1, 2014. She was one shy of the assist/point double-double with nine points.
Reaching the double-double, however, was senior Paige Allen who pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds to go along with her 10 points. She was one board shy of matching the program record for rebounds in a game.
Another career performance came from junior Maya Ellis, who went deep six times for a whopping 25 points. The six made three-pointers is the most in a game since junior Annukka Willstedt netted seven in a game in the 2021-22 season.
Graduate Alecia Westbrook and senior Violeta Verano joined the pair in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Islanders jumped to an early 6-0 start off the back of inside shots from Allen, Ellis, and Westbrook. The Lions got on the board at 7:04 but was quickly met with another jumper from Westbrook and the steal-and-score from Aguado pushed the Islanders up 14-6 halfway through the first. From there, A&M-Corpus Christi closed the first 10 minutes of a 6-2 run finalized with the second-chance bucket from Willstedt.
Westbrook kept the momentum going with the quick layup in the second. At 7:12, Verano doubled up the Lions at 28-14 with the drive to the basket and a trio of threes flew from Verano and Ellis kept the Islanders ahead 43-25 with 2:01 in the half.
Ellis nailed another from beyond-the-arc at 7:17 in the third to extend A&M-Corpus Christi's lead to 52-33. Junior Nabaweeyah McGill also got in for a few contested inside shots to help the Islanders cushion their lead to 60-46 going into the fourth.
The Islanders didn't let up from there, pouring in 26 points in the fourth to add on to their damage. Ellis went back-to-back with swished threes as the Islanders led it 68-48 with 6:51 remaining. Allen got the offensive board and the bucket at 2:43 for a 78-59 advantage and freshman Andrea Montesinos got the bench off their feet with the long-range shot as she capped the +17 win for the Islanders.
The Islanders will next hit the road for the final time in the regular season this year, making trips to HCU and Lamar next weekend.