Tag Archives: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders

Seven teams from Texas make the NCAA tournament

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A few nights ago, it appeared that the state of Texas might have a chance to get as many as 10 teams in the NCAA tournament. By the time the field of 68 was unveiled on Sunday night, the state had seven representatives in the Big Dance.

Here’s a quick glance:

Baylor — The Scott Drew-coached Bears (26-6) enter March Madness as the top seed in the East Regional, trying to win back-to-back national championships. Baylor will play Virginia-based Norfolk State (24-6) on Thursday at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth. Baylor, playing without injured big man Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, who is out for the season, finished 14-4 and shared the Big 12 regular-season title with Kansas. The Bears lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Texas Tech — The Red Raiders (25-9) will play as the No. 3 seed in the West. Tech will take on Montana State (27-7) on Friday in San Diego at Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl. Tech will face its initial NCAA test under first-year coach Mark Adams, an assistant under the Red Raiders’ previous coach, Chris Beard. The Red Raiders finished 12-6 and finished third in the Big 12 regular season. They lost to Kansas in the tournament title game.

Houston — The Cougars (29-5) will compete as the No. 5 seed in the South and will meet the UAB Blazers (27-7) on Friday inside PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Houston’s coach is Kelvin Sampson, a veteran who has worked previously at Washington State, Oklahoma and Indiana. Sampson led the Cougars to the Final Four last year. Houston lost stars Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark to injury earlier in December but rebounded to win the AAC regular season (at 15-3) and tournament crowns.

Texas — The Longhorns (21-11) will move into NCAA play under first-year coach Chris Beard as the sixth seed in the East. They’ll play in Milwaukee on Friday against the No 11 seed Virginia Tech Hokies (23-12). Texas finished fourth in the Big 12 regular season at 10-8 and lost to TCU 65-60 in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Virginia Tech won the ACC tournament title as the seventh seed, routing Duke 82-67 in the championship game.

TCU — The Jamie Dixon-coached Horned Frogs (20-12) will take on the Seton Hall Pirates (21-10) on Friday in San Diego. The Pirates are the eighth seed and the Horned Frogs are ninth in the South Region. TCU beat Texas Tech and Kansas late in the regular season and the knocked off Texas in the Big 12 tournament. Seton Hall won seven straight before falling to Connecticut in the Big East quarterfinals.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi — The Steve Lutz-coached Islanders (23-12) will take on the Texas Southern Tigers (18-12) on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. Both teams are seeded 16th in the Midwest Region, with the winner getting a chance to take on the No. 1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks. Lutz, a San Antonio native, is in his first season as a Division I head coach. The Islanders swept three games to win the Southland Tournament, including back-to-back victories over No. 1 seed Nicholls State and No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana.

Texas Southern — The Johnny Jones-coached Tigers (18-12) scheduled their first 11 games of the season on the road. They lost the first seven before steadying the ship to finish in second place at 13-5 in the SWAC regular season. In the SWAC tournament, the Tigers beat Jackson State, Grambling and then toppled No. 1 seed Alcorn State for the conference title and their second straight trip to the NCAAs. The Tigers rely on defense and a big and talented front court to control the game.

Lutz-led Islanders will play in the NCAA tournament

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San Antonio native Steve Lutz is going to the NCAA tournament in his first season as a head coach.

A&M-Corpus Christi coach Steve Lutz at the UTSA Convocation Center on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. - photo by Joe Alexander

NCAA tournament bound Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is 23-11 under first-year coach Steve Lutz . – File photo by Joe Alexander

The Lutz-led Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders clinched a berth in the Big Dance of college basketball with a 73-65 victory Saturday over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions.

The victory for the fourth-seeded Islanders against the No. 2 Lions came in the finals of the Southland Conference tournament in Katy.

Guards Jalen Jackson and Terrion Murdix led A&M-Corpus Christi in scoring with 13 points apiece.

Jackson, from San Antonio Wagner High School, also had six rebounds and five assists.

The Lions scored 13 straight points early in the game and led the Islanders 16-6.

In response, the Islanders roared from behind with a 29-12 burst that gave them a 35-28 lead with two minutes left in the half.

The Lions came out energized after intermission, erasing a five-point halftime deficit and taking a one-point lead.

A 3-pointer by Southeastern’s Keon Clergeot made it 40-39 in favor of Southeastern.

From there, the Islanders retaliated when De’Lazarus Keys hit a layup and San Antonio Brinson added a 3-point jumper on an assist from Jackson.

A&M-Corpus Chrisi never trailed again.

The tournament served as a new season, in some respects, for the Islanders. At one point, they lost five in a row and six out of seven during the SLC schedule.

When they arrived in Katy, they turned it on, beating Houston Baptist, 75-60 in their opener. In Friday’s semifinals, they stepped it up again and defeated the top-seeded Nicholls State Colonels, 71-64.

After knocking off Southeastern, they had secured victories over the two best teams in the conference in a span of 24 hours.

As a result, the Islanders clinched the Southland’s automatic bid and earned their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2007 and only their second NCAA trip ever.

The Islanders started basketball in the 2002-03 season.

Lutz is a 1991 graduate of East Central High School who played for the Hornets under Stan Bonewitz, a member of the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame. In college, he played at Texas Lutheran University.

His coaching career has been marked with assistant coaching jobs at some of the best programs in the nation.

Prior to taking the A&M-Corpus Christi job, he worked under Matt Painter at Purdue in the Big Ten and under Greg McDermott at Creighton in the Big East.

Lutz has toiled in the state of Texas as assistants at both Incarnate Word and at SMU.

Notable

Teams from the state of Texas finished 2-1 on Saturday in conference tournament finals, as both Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas Southern won and Abilene Christian lost.

Given those results, Abilene Christian is now out of contention for an NCAA bid. It’s also possible that SMU got knocked out of the NCAA picture, as well, with a Saturday afternoon loss to Memphis in the American Athletic Conference semifinals.

Now, it seems that fans might be able to expect eight bids going to teams in the state — to Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas and TCU in the Big 12; to Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference; to Houston in the AAC; to Texas Southern in the SWAC and to A&M-Corpus Christi in the Southland.

NCAA automatic bids

Cal State Fullerton — Big West
Arizona — Pac-12
New Mexico State — Western Athletic Conference
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi — Southland Conference
Virginia Tech — Atlantic Coast Conference
Alabama-Birmingham — Conference USA
Montana State — Big Sky
Akron (Ohio) — Mid-American Conference
Villanova — Big East
Texas Southern — Southwestern Athletic Conference
Boise State — Mountain West
Kansas — Big 12
St. Peter’s (N.J.) — MAAC
Norfolk State (Va.) — MEAC
Vermont — America East
Colgate (N.Y.) — Patriot League
Gonzaga (Wash.) — West Coast Conference
Jacksonville State (Ala.) — Atlantic Sun
Bryant (R.I.) — Northeast Conference
Delaware — Colonial Athletic Association
Wright State (Ohio) — Horizon League
South Dakota State — Summit League
Chattanooga (Tenn.) — Southern Conference
Georgia State — Sun Belt
Longwood (Va.) — Big South
Loyola-Chicago — Missouri Valley
Murray State (Ky.) — Ohio Valley

Lutz-led Islanders aim for a Southland title and an NCAA bid

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A&M-Corpus Christi coach Steve Lutz at the UTSA Convocation Center on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. - photo by Joe Alexander

First-year Texas A&M-Corpus Christi coach Steve Lutz is a 1991 East Central High School graduate. A&M-Corpus Christi plays Southeastern Louisiana for the Southland Conference title an an NCAA tournament automatic bid tonight. – File photo by Joe Alexander

One coach and several players from the San Antonio area are vying this weekend for a chance to advance to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

In addition, as many as 10 teams from the state of Texas could make the 68-team field, which is set to be unveiled on Sunday night.

For San Antonio area hoops fans, the intriguing storyline for the weekend revolves around Steve Lutz, a 1991 East Central High School graduate.

Lutz is a first-year head coach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and has led the Islanders into the Southland Conference tournament final.

The Islanders will play for the SLC’s championship and NCAA automatic bid Saturday night when they take on the Southeastern Louisiana Lions. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. at the Merrell Center in Katy.

If Lutz’s team wins, it means that one of his players, guard Jalen Jackson from Wagner High School, also would be guaranteed of making a trip to the NCAA’s Big Dance.

The fourth-seeded Islanders took a big step toward their dream Friday when they knocked off the No. 1 seed Nicholls State Colonels. Nicholls had won three games against A&M-Corpus Christi this season.

History notwithstanding, A&M-Corpus Christi defeated Nicholls, 71-64, in the SLC tournament semifinals.

Local players to watch

The NCAA tournament starts next week with four opening-round games, followed by rounds of 64 and 32 on the weekend.

On the second weekend, the tournament will be held at four sites, including San Antonio’s AT&T Center, which is hosting the South Regional. The Final Four is scheduled April 2 and 4 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Several San Antonio area players could get a shot to play in the tournament, including Texas Tech guard Kevin McCullar, Jr. from Wagner and Arkansas guard Stanley Umude from Warren.

Both have played roles as starters this season, though McCullar has been coming off the bench lately as he makes his way back from an injury.

On Saturday, the Red Raiders are playing the Kansas Jayhawks for the Big 12 title, while Umude and the Razorbacks played in a Southeastern Conference semifinal against the Texas A&M Aggies.

Texas Tech and Arkansas are both expected to make the NCAA tournament no matter what.

A&M is on the bubble but appears to be in good shape after a victory Friday over fourth-ranked Auburn and another victory Saturday over 15th-ranked Arkansas.

In addition, Brendan Wenzel from O’Connor is another player to watch from the San Antonio area.

He has been a starter this season for the Wyoming Cowboys, who have been projected as an at-large selection despite getting bounced out of the Mountain West tournament.

Texas-based schools in the hunt

The state of Texas, meanwhile, could produce as many as nine or 10 teams in the NCAA tournament. From the Big 12, the NCAA field is expected to include Texas Tech, Baylor, Texas and TCU.

From the Southeastern Conference, Texas A&M remains strongly in the hunt.

From the American Athletic Conference, the Coach Kelvin Sampson’s University of Houston Cougars are expected to make the field, and the SMU Mustangs remain in contention.

Both are playing in conference semifinals Saturday in Fort Worth. Houston plays Tulane at 2 p.m. and SMU takes on Memphis at 4 p.m.

Also:

Southwestern Athletic Conference — Texas Southern is in position to get the automatic bid Saturday afternoon, with the Tigers playing the Alcorn State Braves. The conference tournament title game is set for 5 p.m. in Birmingham, Ala.

Southland Conference — Texas A&M-Corpus Christi vs. Southeastern Louisiana, Saturday, 8:30 p.m., at Katy.

Western Athletic Conference — Abilene Christian will attempt to qualify for the NCAA field for the second straight season. The Wildcats will play the New Mexico State Aggies for the WAC title and auto bid. The game is set for Saturday at 9 p.m. in Las Vegas.

Tenacious Islanders roll to 77-58 victory over the Roadrunners

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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi players and coach Steve Lutz (right) celebrate after their victory over UTSA on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi players and coach Steve Lutz (right) celebrate after their victory over UTSA on Sunday at the Convocation Center. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Any day that San Antonio native Steve Lutz can spend with his family, he counts it as a very good day.

With his mother, Pat, and others on hand in the stands at the UTSA Convocation Center, he knew Sunday would be one of those days, no matter how his Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders played.

Jordan Ivy-Curry. A&M-Corpus Christi beat UTSA 77-58 on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021, at the Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA guard Jordan Ivy-Curry scored 21 points for his second 20-plus performance of the season. – Photo by Joe Alexander

It was made all the more special for the Islanders’ first-year head coach when his players produced an impressive road victory, downing the UTSA Roadrunners, 77-58.

Despite starting guard Jalen Jackson playing only 11 minutes because of foul trouble, the Islanders broke out to a 40-29 lead at halftime and were never seriously threatened in what clearly was their best overall effort of the young season.

UTSA pulled to within seven twice early in the second half, but the game belonged to the visiting team, which held advantages in shooting percentage (50 to 31.9), rebounding (52-34) and points in the paint (50-26).

Jackson, a junior transfer from North Texas, scored 19 points in A&M-Corpus Christi’s two-point victory over Denver last week.

Islanders coach Steve Lutz once played for San Antonio Sports Hall of Famer Stan Bonewitz, Sr., at East Central High School.- Photo by Joe Alexander

Islanders coach Steve Lutz once played for San Antonio Sports Hall of Famer Stan Bonewitz, Sr., at East Central High School. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Saddled with the foul problems on Sunday, the former Wagner High School standout finished with only three against the Roadrunners.

Not to worry. A&M-Corpus Christi had more than enough firepower to storm past UTSA, sweeping all three games in a multi-team event hosted by the Roadrunners that started last week.

Forward Isaac Mushila dominated the day with 21 points and 17 rebounds. With Jackson on the bench much of the afternoon, Terrion Murdix stepped up to play 27 minutes. He hit 4 of 9 shots from the field, scored 8 points and passed for 5 assists.

“The guys are both starters,” said Lutz, a 1991 East Central High School graduate. “I believe we have six, seven, maybe even eight starters on this team, depending on the day and the situation.”

Freshman Lamin Sabally, a 6-foot-7 freshman, played 10 minutes and hit both shot attempts. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Lamin Sabally, a 6-foot-7 freshman forward, played 10 minutes and hit both shot attempts. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Islanders started fast, putting two fouls on Roadrunners’ center Jacob Germany, and surged into 8-0 lead. Pretty soon, it was 14-4 and 16-6. UTSA sliced A&M-Corpus Christi’s advantage to three 10 minutes into the game.

But that is as close as the Roadrunners would get, as the Islanders kept attacking the basket and pounding the glass. After it was all over, A&M-Corpus Christi left the building having never trailed.

“We lost pretty much every facet tonight,” UTSA coach Steve Henson said. “Shooting, it’s easy to look at that. You can also look at a couple of other areas, it’s just as frustrating.

“We haven’t been real, real sharp yet on the offensive end. We got to figure out what our identity is going to be down there.”

Guard Jordan Ivy-Curry emerged as the lone bright spot for the Roadrunners with 21 points. The sophomore from La Marque hit 7 of 16 shots from the field, but he had precious little help from his teammates. Everyone else combined to shoot 15 of 53.

Records

UTSA 3-3
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 4-1

Coming up

Wednesday, 2 p.m. — Lamar at UTSA.

Islanders hold off late charge to win, 65-59

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Junior forward Isaac Mushila scored 16 points, and the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders held off a late challenge to post a 65-59 victory over the IUPUI Jaguars Tuesday night at UTSA.

With the win, the Islanders improved to 2-1 on the season under first-year coach Steve Lutz, a San Antonio native and 1991 graduate of East Central High School.

The Jaguars, meanwhile, fell to 0-4 under first-year coach Matt Crenshaw.

UTSA (1-2) will take on the University of Denver (2-1) in the second game of the night at 7:30.

Denver opened the three-day hoops festival on Monday with a 63-47 victory over IUPUI.

In the late game Monday, Division II Texas A&M Commerce upset Division I UTSA 65-62 on a buzzer beating, 3-point shot by Alphonso Willis.

The Roadrunners beat Trinity 97-66 last Tuesday, but since then, they have struggled. They fell 96-44 at Oklahoma last Friday and then dropped a game to the Division II Lions Monday night after leading by seven early in the second haf.

Tuesday’s scores, schedule

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 65, IUPUI 59
7:30 p.m. — Denver vs. UTSA

Wednesday’s schedule

1 p.m. — Denver vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
4:30 p.m. — IUPUI vs. UTSA

Wallace scores 31 as UTSA routs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 89-67

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Keaton Wallace. UTSA beat A&M-Corpus Christi 89-67 on Tuesday night at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Hard-driving Keaton Wallace takes it into the paint against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. – photo by Joe Alexander

Junior guard Keaton Wallace connected on a school-record 15 free throws without a miss Tuesday night en route to a season-high 31 points in UTSA’s 89-67 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders.

Bouncing back from a Saturday night loss to Prairie View A&M, the Roadrunners placed four men in double figures for the team’s first victory of the season against an NCAA Division I opponent.

UTSA shot a season-high 54.5 percent from the field, improved to 2-6 on the season and won for the second time in three games on a season-opening home stand.

The Islanders fell to 3-5 after rolling into San Antonio on a three-game winning streak. Nolan Bertain led Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with 18 points. He hit four 3-point shots.

Notable

Wallace’s 15-for-15 effort at the free-throw line highlighted a 23-of-26 team effort. Wallace broke the 26-year-old UTSA record held by guard Afis Olajuwon, who made 14 of 14 at home against Sam Houston State on Jan. 9, 1993.

Quotable

“That’s actually crazy. I didn’t even know I shot that many free throws. But that’s great. I feel great about that. You know, big time.” — Keaton Wallace, on what it means to get the school record.

Coming up

UTSA plays at Texas State on Saturday. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. in San Marcos at Strahan Arena.

Wallace’s resurgence

Keaton Wallace entered the game averaging a modest 12.9 points a game on 29.5 percent shooting from the field and 22.8 percent on 3-pointers.

He was 4 of 14 afield and 0 of 8 at the 3-point arc in a 79-72 loss to Prairie View.

The performance capped a mystifying seven-game stretch for Wallace, who emerged as one of the top players in Conference USA last year.

Henson said it was “really good” to see Wallace hit 8 of 12 from the field against the Islanders.

“We’ve been talking about our struggles, really, across the board,” Henson said. “Defensively, we haven’t been good enough. Offensively, the ball has not been going in the hole. Kind of felt like Keaton is a big key to all of this. We know that we need him to get going. We knew he was ready just at any moment to pop it, and so it was really good to see that happen.”

Hellums, Germany shine

Knox Hellums and Jacob Germany each scored 12 points off the bench for the Roadrunners. Hellums, a 6-5 junior transfer from Pepperdine, hit 4 of 4 from the 3-point arc. Germany was 5 of 7 including a couple of slam dunks. Jhivvan Jackson, one of the leading scorers in the nation, had 12 points in only 17 minutes.

First-half recap

Eleven players played and nine scored in the first half Tuesday night as the UTSA Roadrunners took a 41-25 lead against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Slumping junior Keaton Wallace led the way with 16 points. He hit 3 of 3 from the field and 10 of 10 at the free throw line.

UTSA rolls past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 64-50

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Sophomore guard Jhivvan Jackson notched his seventh straight game of 20 points or more on Thursday night, scoring 22, as UTSA registered a 64-50 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Jhivvan Jackson. UTSA overpowered Bethany 101-77 on Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 at the UTSA Convocation Center. - photo by Joe Alexander

Jhivvan Jackson

In the game played at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, the Roadrunners held the Islanders to 29 percent shooting from the field.

Jackson hit four 3-point buckets and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Roadrunners, who have won two in a row and five of their last seven.

Kareem South led the Islanders with 23 points.

Records

UTSA 5-7
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 5-6

Notable

In his seven-game streak, Jackson has scored 21 against both Florida Gulf Coast and Houston Baptist, 22 against Texas State, 28 (Mid-America Christian), 20 (Arkansas), 23 (Bethany) and 22 (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi). He started the season on the bench, sitting out the first three games to complete rehabilitation from knee surgery.

Quotable

“I’m feeling great. I’m getting, basically, my conditioning back. My knee is good. It’s not bothering me or anything, and I’m just looking forward to the rest of the season.” — UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson said on the team’s radio broadcast.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi wins, completes sweep against UIW

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The Jackson Owens-fueled Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders turned back the Incarnate Word Cardinals 8-3 Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep.

Owens beat UIW at the plate and on the mound.

He hit a double and a triple and drove in three runs for the Islanders, and he also pitched the last 2 and 2/3 innings, earning credit for the win.

The series was played in Corpus Christi at Chapman Field.

Records

Incarnate Word 29-23, 13-14
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 27-26, 11-16

Series notes

The Cardinals held the lead in all three games but failed to win any of them.

As a result, they fell into a tie for seventh with New Orleans leading into the final days of the SLC race.

Eight teams qualify for the SLC tournament.

UIW and New Orleans are tied for seventh at 13-14, followed by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Nicholls, both 11-16.

Each team has three games remaining.

Looking ahead

Hoping to secure its first SLC tournament berth, UIW plays at home Thursday, Friday and Saturday against first-place Sam Houston State.

UIW is hosting a team that is coming off historic success.

Last year, the Bearkats won the NCAA Lubbock Regional and advanced to the tournament’s Super Regional round.

At that point, Florida State knocked out Sam Houston State in two straight for a berth in the College World Series.

Recently, the Bearkats (35-17, 21-6) bounced back from a four-game losing streak to win two in a row against Houston Baptist.

Sam Houston State clinched at least a share of the SLC’s regular-season title with a 9-6 victory over Houston Baptist on Sunday.

Tournament time

The SLC tournament is scheduled May 23-26 at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.

Ayala pitches Texas A&M-Corpus Christi over UIW

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Freshman A.G. Ayala pitched the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders to a 4-3 victory Saturday over Incarnate Word at Chapman Field.

Ayala held visiting UIW to two runs on four hits in seven innings as A&M-Corpus Christi won its second game in a row in the Southland Conference series.

The Islanders will try for their first SLC series sweep of the season Sunday at 1 p.m.

Trailing by two runs, the Cardinals scored once off reliever Will Floyd in the eighth inning to trim the lead to 4-3.

But Cody LeCompte entered the game and got the last six outs for the save.

Tyler Miller was the hard-luck losing pitcher, throwing all eight innings for the Cardinals.

He gave up only two earned runs on seven hits and struck out nine.

Records

Incarnate Word 29-22, 13-13
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 26-26, 10-16

Series notes

With the loss, UIW will enter Sunday’s game in seventh place, one game ahead of eighth-place New Orleans, in the SLC race.

Eight teams qualify for the SLC postseason tournament.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is tied for 10th place, one game out of ninth and two games out of the eighth.

Both UIW and A&M-Corpus Christi have four SLC games remaining.

Team in transition

For the past four years, UIW has been ineligible for postseason play in the SLC because of its status as a team in transition to NCAA Division I.

This year, the Cardinals have moved past the transition, and would be eligible if they can just win some games down the stretch.

To complete the season schedule, they are scheduled to play three games at home next week with first-place Sam Houston State.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rallies past UIW, 56-51

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UIWs Shawn Johnson splits the defense on a drive against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. (Soobum Im / The University of the Incarnate Word)

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rallied in the final eight minutes Saturday afternoon to claim a 56-51 victory over the slumping University of the Incarnate Word Cardinals.

Trailing by three with 8:32 remaining at UIW’s Convocation Center, the Islanders surged behind Joe Kilgore and Deion Rhea down the stretch to win their fourth straight.

Kilgore and Kareem South each scored 11 points apiece for A&M-Corpus Christi (8-12, 5-5 Southland Conference).

UIW (5-15, 0-10) has lost 12 straight, its longest losing streak since it moved up to NCAA Division I and joined the SLC in 2013.

Shawn Johnson and Charles Brown III each produced 14 points for the Cardinals.

Johnson also had nine rebounds and two blocks, two assists and one steal while playing all 40 minutes.

Center Konstantin Kulikov had four blocks and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.

With eight games to play in the regular season, UIW hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday.

UIW forward Charles Brown III takes it strong to the basket against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. (Soobum Im / The University of the Incarnate Word)