Texas A&M-Corpus Christi basketball loses to Texas Southern in NCAA Tournament

DAYTON, Ohio — A strong second-half effort was not enough Tuesday for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in its return to the NCAA Tournament.

No.16-seed Texas Southern dashed the Islanders' hope of their first tournament win by going on a late 12-1 run to catch and pull away from them in a 76-67 win at the First Four at University of Dayton Arena.

The Islanders ended their season 23-12, improving their win total by 18 triumphs in Steve Lutz's first season coaching them as they earned their second berth in the NCAA Tournament (2007).

How it happened

The Islanders came out of the gate strong, forging a 13-5 lead, capitalizing on four early turnovers, but Texas Southern's height advantage inside started to bother A&M-Corpus Christi's offensive attack.

Trevian Tennyson and Simeon Fryer scored in transition, spurring an 8-0 run for the Islanders before Texas Southern fought back with their length and inside presence.

The Tigers finished with nine blocks, led by Brison Gresham's six rejections. Texas Southern took its first lead with 7:33 left in the first half on Bryson Etienne's three and led 32-30 at the break.

A&M-Corpus Christi's best flourish came on a 12-2 run in the second half to forge a 55-51 lead as Fryer and Tennyson's 3-point shooting served as a spark.

Tennyson led the Islanders with 18 and Fryer finished with 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

A&M-Corpus Christi went 5 of 7 from long range to start the second half and the Islanders took a 61-59 lead with 6:04 to play on a dunk from Fryer, but were held to six points the rest of the game. The Islanders finished the game by missing 10 of their final 11 shots.

The Tigers had a 55-28 advantage in bench scoring, led by Etienne's 21 points.

Looking at the stats

• The Islanders struggled uncharacteristically from the free throw line. Normally a 74% free throw shooting team during the season, A&M-Corpus Christi was 9 of 19 from the line for 47.4%, its lowest total of the year.

• After having an edge on the glass in the first half, the Islanders were out-rebounded 25-13 in the final 20 minutes.

• Texas Southern, the only team to win multiple times in Dayton, won for the third time in the First Four.

• The Islanders opened the game hitting 5 of 7 3-point attempts and only made one of their last eight shots from long range.

• Texas A&M-Corpus Christi turned the ball over nine times — twice in the second half — the second-best it had protected the ball all season.

Next

Texas Southern advanced to face Midwest No. 1 seed Kansas on Thursday in Fort Worth. The Islanders closed the season 23-12.

They said it

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi coach Steve Lutz on the Islanders fast start: "I thought early on our defensive intensity was tremendous. We were able to make a couple of shots. Early on we were able to create turnovers that got us some easy baskets. As the first half wore on, our defensive intensity lacked a little bit and they were able to get some easy baskets. You can't fault the effort. They tried and gave it their all. At the end of the day you can't be outrebounded and allow a team to be plus-16 at the free throw line."

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi guard Myles Smith on how Texas Southern answered the Islanders second-half surge: "I think around that time Trevian Tennyson got hot and that kind of gave us some life. But I mean they're a good basketball team. They adjusted and they took away 3-pointers and made us adjust. So just how the course of the game goes.

"But I'm proud of our effort. I thought we played hard until the very last buzzer. So can't take away from that."

Texas Southern coach Johnny Jones on how experience in the First Four and with a quick turnaround helped his team: "Our preparation is important because the number of games. We may leave home at the beginning of the season and be on a 10-day road trip, playing four games out West.

"So we have to make sure that we're good on the fly in terms of our scouting and getting preparation for our guys, and that certainly sets well for this. And in our conference we play a Saturday/Monday schedule. And this has been really good for us because you have that one day to prep obviously for the next team."

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi loses to Texas Southern in NCAA Tournament