CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The top-seeded Islanders men's basketball team won the Southland Championship for the second consecutive season, 75-71, over No. 2 Northwestern State at the Legacy Center in Lake Charles, La.
Texas A&M-CC lost its star guard Terrion Murdix to a knee injury in the first few minutes of the game and trailed by 16 before rallying to tie it at the half 31-31.
Jalen Jackson had 17 points and was named the Southland Tournament MVP. Owen Dease had a career-high 16 points.
This will be the third-ever appearance in the March Madness tournament for the men's program, and first time going in back-to-back years.
The Islander's Alumni Association hosted a watch party at Brewster Street Icehouse on the city's Southside, so folks don't have to miss out from not traveling to Louisiana.
"The Islanders, really since the beginning of our athletic program has bred champions and winners. This is just going to help us build a stronger foundation for future celebrations and this is just the beginning," said Haysam Dawod, the President of the Islander's Alumni Association.
Just the beginning all right. Some basketball fans have longed for this type of success on the court.
"I'm a alumni from 2011, we moved back in 2017 and I've been to all of them since then," said DeeAnna Heavilin, a fan and alumna.
Thanks to the Alumni Association, fans from all over the place were able to watch the game.
"A lot of the people in this room today are season ticket holders, they have families, they have jobs, they couldn't travel. Building this event out giving them the option to do this here, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, the Dallas Fort Worth area so that they can all gather and watch our islanders," said Elvia Aguilar, the Interim Executive Director of Islander Alumni Engagement.
They said the Islander's back-to-back conference titles helps to put Corpus Christi on the map.
"It's also going to promote the name of the city as well as the university nationwide, so this is a really exciting moment not just for the university, not for the alumni but for the entire coastal bend," Dawod added.