TAMUCC 85 TCU 79

MeanGreen61 · November 28, 2004

Texas A&M Corpus Christi 85 TCU 79.

gksmith · November 28, 2004

Does TCU miss Billy Tubbs?

MeanGreen61 · November 28, 2004

Here's the game story from the Caller-Times.

Isles leap Frogs

Lamkin scores 27 points for the Islanders

By Lee Goddard Caller-Times

November 28, 2004

There were two victories all wrapped up in one for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team.

The Islanders scored a victory over one of their target teams - an in-state "name" school - and, with it, earned a shot at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times Challenge championship.

Post Corey Lamkin scored a career-high 27 points, and A&M-Corpus Christi survived a 3-point onslaught by TCU to start the second half and posted a solid 85-79 victory Saturday night in front of 2,549 at the American Bank Center.

The victory keeps alive the Islanders' hope of winning the tournament that's held on their own home court. If A&M-Corpus Christi (3-1) defeats Old Dominion this evening at 5, it could take the title, depending on the outcome of the Kent State-Shawnee State game.

Should the Islanders, Kent State and Old Dominion all tie with one loss in the Challenge, then the tournament champ would be determined by fewest defensive points allowed.

"Old Dominion has a great team," A&M-Corpus Christi coach Ronnie Arrow said. "This is our tournament, so we want to be able to win. I hope all the fans bring all their friends, relatives, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends."

The victory over TCU (3-2) gives A&M-Corpus Christi another Texas "name school" to its list of victims. Since the Islanders' inception six seasons ago, the team has defeated Texas Tech, Texas-El Paso and Texas A&M.

After defeating Florida State on Monday, A&M-Corpus Christi has defeated two schools this season in major conferences - FSU in the Atlantic Coast, and the Horned Frogs in Conference USA.

"It's time we started stepping up and beating these teams, these so-called high majors" said guard Travis Bailey, who scored 20 points, including a perfect 10 of 10 from the line. "Again, we knew what they had, their personnel. Florida State gave us the confidence."

A big reason for the confidence surge was Lamkin, who was coming off two subpar outings. Against Kent State, he scored 10 points and had five rebounds. Foul-plagued against Florida State, he scored only four points and grabbed two rebounds.

"The last two games, it was a lapse," said Lamkin, who also hauled down six rebounds. "I kept working hard. I got myself mentally and physically prepared for this game. I'm a senior, and this was a big game.

"No, I couldn't (envision beating these caliber teams when the program was started). It's great. Being a senior, I have to go out strong. We're all coming together like we're supposed to. Hopefully, we'll get another one."

Lamkin offset a 26-point outburst from TCU's Corey Santee.

In the first half, the teams tied five times and the lead switched hands four times, but the Islanders owned the edge most of the half.

As Bailey and Lamkin combined for A&M-Corpus Christi's first 15 points, the Islanders trailed for barely more than a minute in the half, and never faced a deficit larger than two points.

TCU started the second half on a 3-point tear, nailing three in a row for a three-point lead. But, paced by seven points from Aaron White, A&M-Corpus Christi went on a 14-3 run. The Islanders, who bumped their lead as high as 11 points, never trailed again. While the Horned Frogs pulled to within four points in the final moments, Bailey was a perfect eight of eight from the line in the final two minutes.

"I kept telling my teammates to get me the ball," Bailey said. "I knew, once I got to the line, there would be no problem."