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KATY, Texas – Hameed Ali pushed the ball upcourt with the mindset that if second-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi were to advance to Saturday night’s Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament final, it would come down to him.
Ali’s hunch – and his shot – proved right, as the Islanders guard knocked down a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to lift them past third-seed Sam Houston State 79-76 at Merrell Center on Friday night, pushing them into the title game against top-seed Stephen F. Austin at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2. A&M-Corpus Christi will play for an automatic NCAA Tournament bid for the first time since winning the championship in 2007.
“I wanted this game just to be in a spot like that,” Ali said of his shot that finally shook off the ghosts of two straight exits from the tournament at the hands of Sam Houston State (18-15). “This is what you dream of as a player: to have the ball in my hands and have the trust of my coaching staff to allow me to take the shot that I wanted to take. We had been driving them all night, and it allowed me to take the shot and take it with confidence.”
After being fouled during a scramble for the ball after the Islanders forced a Bearkats turnover, Ali helped seal the victory with a pair of free throws with 1.2 seconds left, but the A&M-Corpus Christi bench was forced to hold its breath as Sam Houston State’s Dakari Henderson – who hit the game-winning basket against Nicholls in Thursday night’s second round – gheaved up a 51-foot shot that bounced out of the basket as the horn sounded.
Both teams sputtered from the free throw line down the stretch, as the Islanders missed six of their final 11 attempts, while the Bearkats failed to convert seven of their 10 attempts from the stripe.
“All you can ask for is opportunities, and we had our opportunities to win the game tonight,” Sam Houston State Jason Hooten said. “Maybe another stop here or there or whatever the case may be, the opportunities were there to win the basketball game, and we just didn’t get it done.”
“Every time we play these guys, it’s been a dogfight every single game,” Islanders coach Willis Wilson said. “It’s going to boil down to one or two possessions. I think our guys put a lot of time and energy going way back to last season.”
Wilson’s team trailed 53-40 after Sam Houston State’s Albert Almanza hit a 3-pointer with 16:17 left, but with their season on the line, proceed to clamp down on the Bearkats defensively. While the defense forced Sam Houston State to miss 11 straight field goals, the Islanders rediscovered their offense, taking off on a 16-2 run that was capped off by Joe Kilgore’s layup with 9:11 left.
The Islanders pulled off the win despite having starters Rashawn Thomas and Bryce Douvier foul out within 77 seconds of each other midway through the second half, yet the bench provided a huge lift, accounting for 21 points. Ehab Amin scored 10 points, including 6 of 8 from the free throw line, while Kilgore’s defensive effort was boosted by his six points.
The Bearkats, who went without a field goal for 8:58 before Henderson knocked down a 3-pointer with 7:19 left, found themselves trailing 67-64 before Almanza (team-best 17 points) hit a jumper and Aurimas Majauskas hit a free throw to tie the score at 67-all with 3:11 left. Sam Houston State held a 3-point lead of its own at the 2:32 mark before Kilgore’s basket with 1:46 left would begin the decisive stretch in which the lead switched hands three times before Ali (team-high 18 points) swung momentum to A&M-Corpus Christi for keeps.
The Islanders lost both games against Stephen F. Austin, falling 66-61 at Corpus Christi on January 30 before enduring a 70-58 setback on the road February 13.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Head Coach Willis Wilson
On today’s game…
“Every time we play these guys, from day one, going back five years ago, it’s been a dog fight. Every single game it’s going to boil down to one or two possessions. I think our guys put a lot of time and energy in since the end of last season knowing and understanding how important it is for us to improve in some little areas and I thought tonight was a great example. We didn’t have very many execution-type breakdowns and they didn’t either. That’s one of the things that made this such a great game. When it’s all said and done, we had some guys who really stepped up big. With Bryce [Douvier] and Rashawn [Thomas] in foul trouble, Hameed Ali came up big for us off the bench, especially not playing much in the first half - Joe Kilgore. There’s not shot bigger than the one Hameed made. I think that goings back to my initial statement about preparing in the offseason.”
On second half shooting…
“We came out a half a step behind or so, especially on the defensive side. We try to make it a goal to get our hands on basketballs and we didn’t do a great job of that in the first half, which allowed Sam Houston to penetrate quite a bit. The second half, our goal was to shoot inside out. These guys did a nice job of attacking the paint.”
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Junior Forward Rashawn Thomas
On playing in foul trouble…
“I knew we needed to make a run when we were down and I picked up a foul. I thought he was going to pull me. We already had a conversation that you can’ take anything to the locker room with you so I just told him to leave me our here and let me play my heart out and whatever happens, happens.”
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Senior Guard Hameed Ali
On hitting the game-winning shot…
“I was coming down the court and I had been cramping the last few minutes of the game, I had rolled my ankle. Honestly, I was just thinking that I couldn’t last to overtime.”
Sam Houston State Head Coach Jason Hooten
On pride for the team…
“Credit goes to [the players] because they just figured out a way to pull together. We got guys playing positions that they’ve never even played all year long. Even tonight we overcame. It just wasn’t our night; the ball didn’t bounce our way. If the ball bounced our way, and that shot didn’t go in, we win another game so I’m extremely proud of our team and our program and what our program stands for. We’ve been [at the tournament] 14 straight years, more than anyone in this tournament right now and we’ve finished in the top three the last ten out of last 12 years. I know there are teams that have done great but no one can say that, and I’m proud of that.”
Sam Houston State Junior Guard Dakarai Henderson
On being a team leader…
“I know I’ve had to step up a lot. It meant a lot because I do see how much the guys really do look up to me and I know throughout the season I’ve had my ups and downs individually so coach pulled me aside to tell me ‘hey you’re in a different position now unlike last year or the years before. These guys are really following you and looking up to you,” so I had to talk to them…I get on them sometimes individually and I know that we’re going to pull together and let this be a motivator for next year.”