Again and again in the first half, Trevian Tennyson pulled away from the screens, ran down the baseline to find a hole in the other corner, and got up looking at the ring.
And seemingly every time Tennyson stopped in the first half, the shot went on target, on his way to a career-best 28-point game to help the Islanders allay disappointment from Thursday’s overtime loss to New Orleans. » with a score of 97-79. and the American Banking Center.
Tennyson’s six three-pointers and 21 points in the first half led to an A&M-Corpus Christi-record night from behind the arc, when the Islanders combined to hit a program-record 16 three-pointers in the game.
Alumni transfer Ross Williams scored four triples and Isaac Mushila three as the Islanders flirted with the Southland Conference century mark by defeating the Privaters two days after a double-digit second-half lead over the South East.
It was a necessary victory to set the momentum in the right direction after the Southland Conference favorites lost at home for the first time this season.
“We shot exceptionally well throughout the game, obviously Tre Tennyson was fantastic from the three-point line, but I think he had a great game overall,” said Islanders coach Steve Lutz. “In the first half, nothing but positive, but in the second we let the score determine our defense and it was the same problem as on Thursday.
“We need to be more mature in this moving forward, but I’m very happy that the score is 4-1.”
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11-7) 67% shooting from long range helped the Islanders win, allowing the privateers to score 46 points in the second half, but for most of the last 20 minutes, the lead hovered around the 20-point mark.
As a team, the Islanders have seen Tennyson locked up to find ways to get the ball even while playing for the older Arlington.
“For us, when someone hits the ball like this, we just want to find it,” said senior Isaac Mushila. “We want them to have more shooting opportunities. When Tre starts to make such threes, we conduct some kind of attack for him. It was Tre’s night, so we tried to get him to open every time.”
Tennyson hit six 3-pointers for the second time this season, tying his two-season career high with the Islanders.
“We are talking about selflessness,” Lutz said. “We made baskets, we want them to be assisted baskets. To their credit, they covered Tre, they knew he had a hot hand, and put their score aside to improve the team. , gave him the ball in position to succeed and we played a couple of rallies for him.
“Any time you have a guy who shoots this well, you should capitalize on it.”
After splitting a couple of home games in Southland, the Islanders men and women hit the road to play Lamar and Houston Christian as both try to stay at the top of the league.
The A&M-Corpus Christi women managed to make it back to the finish line after limiting themselves to 11 attempts per streak in Thursday’s close loss as they swept New Orleans 58-45.
Alicia Westbrook, the current Southland Conference Women’s Player of the Week, has lined up alone 14 times, while the Islanders have won 19 of 27.
Westbrook’s 21 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and a dominant third quarter helped the Islanders bounce back from their first Southland Conference home loss since 2021.
“We did a good job recovering from how we played Thursday,” said Islanders head coach Royce Chadwick. “We came out with good enthusiasm and energy. UNO came out and scored 18 points in the first quarter. drop a line and attack them when they are out of position.”
Chadwick was pleased that the Islanders remained on the defensive for the full 40 minutes, especially in the third quarter when they limited the Privates to 1-of-17 shots and four points to help A&M-Corpus Christi lead 45– 34 after the end of the game. square 30 in half.
“We stopped them once and for all in the third quarter,” Chadwick said. “In this stretch, we were able to hold them to one hit and did not get offensive rebounds. When we communicate, we defend ourselves well. When we don’t communicate, we often get stuck. on the bench, and also added sparks to the defense.”
Jaeda Whitner tied for the second time of the season and scored 11 points, her third double-digit record of the year.
Chadwick said Whitner’s long-range shots give the Islanders a new dimension.
“She makes Paige (Allen) better and Vio (Verano) better,” Chadwick said. “She makes (Westbrook) better and Makina (Serrata) better. (Defenders) should stay with her because she can really shoot. It adds a dimension that we really need.”
The Islanders’ preseason favorites for women (9-7) are 4-1 second in the conference before returning to Corpus Christi with the men on Jan. 26 against Nicholls.
