CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi sank 26 free throws to fuel a 60-point second half as the Nicholls State University men's basketball team was unable to hang on to a halftime lead, falling 96-86 Thursday night at the American Bank Center.
With the loss, Nicholls slides a spot down the standings at 5-3 and drops to 10-10 overall. The Islanders, which lost all three regular season meetings to the Colonels last season, have now won two straight in the series. AMCC improved to 12-9 overall and 5-3 in the Southland.
Latrell Jones had 22 points in the setback while
Pierce Spencer recorded a double-double with 11 points and a career-high 13 assists. Offensively, Nicholls had a total of five players score in double figures and shot 54 percent from the field and 12 of 24 from 3-point range, but the Colonels could not slow down the Islanders in the second half.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi shot 65 percent after the break and connected on 26 of 31 from the charity stripe to erase a 43-36 halftime deficit. Entering the game as the No. 25th-ranked team in the NCAA in free throw percentage, the Islanders finished the night 32 of 37.
Like at McNeese on Saturday, Nicholls came out on fire from long range and made 9 of 15 from 3-point range before the intermission.
Jalen White was big in the opening 20 minutes, making 4 of 4 for all 12 of his points on the night.
But in the second half, the home team needed just four minutes to take the lead and then midway through the period, used an 8-0 to go up for good.
After trailing by as much as 11 in the second half, Nicholls made a final push and cut the deficit to 82-78 after a Jones 3-pointer. Jones finished 9 of 14 from the field and 4 of 7 from behind the arc.
But once again, the Islanders answered with a 7-0 run that put the game away. AMCC made three free throws before getting a dunk by Trevian Tennyson for a nine-point lead. Isaac Mushila made the advantage double figures following a putback with just two minutes remaining.
For the Colonels,
Lance-Amir Paul contributed with 10 points and four assists off the bench.
Tennyson scored a game-high 27 points for the Islanders while Mushila (25 points, 10 rebounds) and Terrion Murdix (17 points, 15 assists) posted double-doubles.
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Nicholls will stay in Texas for a Saturday matchup against UIW. Tipoff in San Antonio is scheduled for 4 p.m.
