No. 4 A&M-Corpus Christi’s Defense on Display in 75-60 Win Over No. 5 HBU
Courtesy of Brandon Williams, Southland Conference
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KATY, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi brought its league-best scoring defense to the Leonard E. Merrell Center on Thursday, and its presence moved the Islanders one step closer to the 2022 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament championship.
A&M-Corpus Christi held fifth-seed Houston Baptist to 31 percent shooting, using it as a springboard to a 75-60 win over the Huskies in Thursday’s quarterfinal game. For its effort, the fourth-seeded Islanders will collide with top-seed Nicholls in a semifinal matchup at 5 p.m. CT Friday.
“Our guys were focused,” said Islanders head coach Steve Lutz. “They executed the gameplan from start to finish.”
Ranked among the top defenses in the nation, the Islanders (21-11) kept the Huskies (11-18) 16 points below its regular season average. HBU’s three-point shooting was also curtailed as the Huskies hit only 27 percent (8-for-30) from beyond the arc.
Key to the Islanders’ success was its ability to contain second team All-Southland Conference swingman Darius Lee, who was held to just 4-for-12 shooting despite finishing with 18 points.
“We forced him into some tough shots,” said Simeon Fryer, who led the Islanders with 16 points. “We guarded him as best as possible and made sure our rotations were good inside.”
“I thought our guys’ defensive intensity helped take a little bit of their momentum out,” said Lutz.
The Islanders took full advantage of an HBU team that played on Wednesday, upping the tempo early and bolting to a 19-8 lead at the 12:00 mark of the first half. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi stunned the Huskies with a 15-2 run over a period of 5:26 in the first half while putting the Huskies’ offense on ice as HBU went through a stretch in which they went 1-for-9 from the field.
A&M-Corpus Christi exploited the interior defense of HBU from the outset, scoring 16 of its first 19 points inside the paint. On the evening, the Islanders finished with a 34-18 edge in the interior.
It took some time for HBU to work its way back into the game, but when Khristion Courseault’s triple found the mark, the Huskies – once down 25-10 – were down just 25-18 with 7:51 to go in the half.
The HBU surge was brief. Fryer knocked down consecutive treys that helped swell the Islanders lead back to 33-19 before De’Lazarus Keys’ short jumper gave A&M-Corpus Christi its biggest lead of the half at 35-19 with 3:30 before the break.
HBU’s task became more daunting when San Antonio Brinson’s two free throws put A&M-Corpus Christi into a solid 39-21 halftime advantage.
“We did everything we could,” said HBU head coach Ron Cottrell, whose team finally felt the physical wear and tear that came from Saturday’s triple overtime win over McNeese State and a grueling win over Incarnate Word in Wednesday’s tourney opener. “We switched defenses quite a bit to give them a different look and try to throw them off, but we weren’t successful.”
HBU was also hurt by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s depth. The Islanders’ bench outscored the Huskies by a 36-12 margin.
With its season on the line, the Huskies quickly whittled the lead down behind a 12-2 run that Darius Lee capped with a layup that brought HBU within 45-36 with 13:50 remaining. The spurt ran out of steam as the Islanders rattled off eight straight points to rebuild a formidable 53-36 lead inside 11 minutes remaining.
The Islanders defense put the game away, holding the Huskies without a basket for over three minutes while also building a 62-40 lead once Fryer hit a three-pointer with 7:49 on the clock.
“I thought their guards played really well,” said Cottrell. “I thought they shot the ball well. (Terrion) Murdix and Fryer and (Trevian) Tennyson were hard to control for us.”
Nicholls won both regular season games against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Colonels won 84-75 during the Southland Basketball Tip-Off on January 7 before holding off the Islanders in an 83-80 overtime win at home on February 12.