CORPUS CHRISTI (Islanders Athletics) — Story Headlines
- The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi men's basketball team opened Southland play with an 87-75 victory over Central Arkansas on Wednesday night at the American Bank Center.
- The Islanders are now 6-8 overall and 1-0 in Southland play while the Bears fall to 5-9 on the year and 0-1 in conference action.
- Four Texas A&M-Corpus Christi players scored in double figures led by Kareem South (22), Emmanuel Toney (13), Jashawn Talton (12) and Elijah Schmidt (11).
- Schmidt also recorded his first double-double of the year, leading the team with 13 rebounds including four on the offensive end. He added two steals, a block and an assist.
- The Islanders outrebounded UCA, 43-29, and shot 23 more free throws than the Bears
Key Islander Statistics
- A&M-Corpus Christi shot 45.2 percent from the field (28-for-62) and hit 27-of-35 attempts at the charity stripe (77.1 percent).
- The Islanders' 12 offensive rebounds led to 15 second chance points. The Bears were held to four offensive boards and zero second-chance points.
- The Bears were forced into 18 turnovers while A&M-Corpus Christi had just 11 miscues.
- Five Islander players recorded steals in the game.
- On the 28 made field goals by A&M-Corpus Christi, 18 came off assists.
- The Islanders led in points in the paint, 36-20, points off turnovers, 14-11, fast break points, 10-4, bench points, 22-17, and second chance points, 15-0.
- The game was tied once and included two lead changes. The Bears led for 21 seconds while A&M-Corpus Christi led for 38:43.
- South hit 7-of-15 shot attempts and did not miss at the free throw line, going 6-for-6. He added seven rebounds, including four offensive rebounds, and had a game-high three steals defensively.
- Toney shot 3-for-5 from the field and went 6-for-10 at the charity stripe. He had a team-high six assisits, four rebounds and two steals.
- Talton went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and hit a pair of field goals. He finished with eight rebounds including two on the offensive end. He had three assists and a steal.
- Tre Gray finished with eight points, three rebounds and three assists. He hit both of his free throw attemtps.
- Tony Lewis grabbed three rebounds to go along with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting. He also added an assist.
- Jake Babic finished with seven points and two assists in 25 minutes of action.
- Irshaad Hunte had six points with a pair of rebounds.
- A&M-Corpus Christi led 42-34 at the break and outscored UCA, 45-41, in the second half.
Islander Notables
- For South, it was his ninth career game with 20-plus points and his third this year. He has also scored in double figures eight times this year and 42 times in his career.
- Schmidt had his second career double-double. He has scored in double figures eight times in his career and had five 10-plus rebound performances.
- Toney has scored in double figures five times this year and six times in his career.
- Wednesday was the third game in double-figures for Talton this year.
- This was the ninth game this year A&M-Corpus Christi has outrebounded an opponent, going 6-3 this year.
- Lewis hit the pregame half-court shot for the first time this season.
- South has now started 72 straight contests. It was the 14th consecutive start for Talton, the eighth for Schmidt and the sixth straight starting nod for Babic.
- Coach Willis Wilson is now 7-2 all time against Central Arkansas while coaching on the Island and has a 39-19 career Southland home record.
- The Islanders are now 13-2 all time against the Bears.
- Wednesday was the first time a starting lineup of South, Babic, Talton, Schmidt and Toney had been used.
- Schmidt has now scored in double-figures in three-straight contests.
Up Next
- The Islanders will head to Beaumont, Texas, to face Lamar University on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 4:30 p.m.
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