February 9, 2007 - Taurean Mitchell scored a career-high 23 points with seven assists to help lead the Islanders to a win over Nicholls State.
Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi overcame a three-point shooting exhibition by Nicholls State, which hit 21 of their 31 field goals from behind the three-point line, to take a 107-91 win in the American Bank Center. The 100-point effort marks the first time the Islanders have surpassed the century mark for points this season.
The Colonels suited out just seven players, but four hit in double-figures behind Stefan Blaszczynski’s game-high 24 points. Fourteen of their 21 threes came in the first half as everybody hit at least 1 trey for the game. The 21 3-point baskets set a school-record for three-pointers made by an Islander opponent.
A&M-Corpus; Christi (17-5, 8-1) was able to convert from beyond the arc, tying a school-record with 14, hitting 50 percent (14-28). The Islanders shot well, hitting 58.2 percent, including 60.7 in the second half. TAMUCC also took advantage by converting 15-of-17 free throws.
Five different players scored in double-figures with Taurean Mitchell scoring a career-high 23 points with seven assists, while Josh Washington put in 21. Kevin Menifee had the best game of his career with 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to become the second player behind Chris Daniels to record a double-double this season.
The inside game of the Islanders countered the outside game of Nicholls State by scoring 40 points in the paint and out-rebounded the Colonels by 19 and scored 19 second-chance points.
The Islanders led for most of the first half as they were unable to pull away from the Colonels, who shot 51.9 percent from three-point range in the first half. Josh Washington hit a jumper with 17:34 to play in the first to give the Islanders a 10-5 advantage, but Nicholls State countered with a 6-0 run on a pair of three’s to pull within one. A&M-Corpus; Christi used a 15-5 run midway through the first to lead 35-25, its largest of the game, but the long-range shooting by Adonis Gray and Ryan Bathie eventually gave Nicholls a 54-52 advantage at the half.
A&M-Corpus; Christi opened the second half with a 19-5 run, eight of which came from Mitchell, who converted 8-of-10 shots, included 4-of-5 from beyond the 3-point line. The spurt gave the Islanders a 71-59 advantage with 15:35 to play as the Colonels would come no closer than five points the rest of the way.
The Islanders closed out the game with an 18-6 run, 11 of which came from Josh Washington, who hit three-straight 3-pointers down the stretch.
A&M-Corpus; Christi will remain at home this weekend when it hosts Southeastern La. Saturday at noon in the American Bank Center.
Article Courtesy: Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi Sports Information
Photo Courtesy: Steve Nurenberg
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