February 15, 2008 - THIBODAUX, LA. – Chris Daniels calmly sank a three-point basket from the top of the key with 29 seconds left Thursday night as Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi escaped from Stopher Gymnasium with a 50-47 win over Nicholls State.
Trailing 47-46 after Justin Payne hit 1-of-2 foul shots with 41 seconds left, Daniels received a pass from Horace Bond and hit the deciding three. With the three-point basket, Daniels finished the game with 19 points and is now one behind the all-time mark of Michael Hicks. Hicks scored 1,324 in the first two seasons of the Islander program.
“That was a tremendous shot for Chris,” said Islander head coach Perry Clark. “It was great to see Chris step up and hit a shot like that for us. He has worked hard all season and really deserves something like that to happen for him.”
Daniels finished with nine rebounds just missing his third double-double of the season.
Filip Toncinic hit a free throw with two seconds left to seal the win as A&M-Corpus; Christi improved to 7-15 overall and 4-5 in the Southland. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Islanders. The Colonels fall to 7-18 and 2-8 in the SLC.
The Daniels three capped an otherwise sloppy offensive game for both sides as the teams combined to go 10-of-43 from the floor in the second half as they shot a combined 23.3 percent from the floor. The teams were a combined 26-of-35 in the second half from the foul line.
The Islanders led by seven three times in the second half with the last time coming at 44-37 with less than five minutes to go on a pair of free throws by Daniels. Daniels was 10-of-12 from the foul line.
Anatoly Bose started a 9-2 run for the Colonels with a three-point basket. It was just the fourth of the game for Nicholls matching their season low.
Daniels hit a pair of shots from the charity stripe to extend the lead to six with 3:57 left, but six straight points by NSU tied the game at 46 with 1:26 left. Bose had the final four points to finish with 10 points.
A&M-Corpus; Christi played solid defense holding Nicholls State to just 25% from the floor – a season-low by an Islander opponent. The Islanders overcame 26 turnovers by dominating the glass. A&M-Corpus; Christi out-rebounded the hosts 47-27 and held a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points.
“Defensively, we played about as good as we could,” said Clark. “But, we kept them in the game with fouls and turnovers.”
Like the second half, the Islanders led much of the first half only to have to hit a key shot late to lead at the intermission.
The Islanders broke a 5-5 tie with 7-0 run. Justin Reynolds converted a three-point play to start the run. Kevin Perkins and Tim Green each scored on the break for a 12-5 A&M-Corpus; Christi lead. A block of an Adonis Gray shot in the lane by Demond Watt began the run.
Seven straight points for the Colonels by Mitch Boyce pulled the hosts to within two, 14-12, with just under 10 minutes to go in the half.
Daniels, who led all scorers with eight points in the first half, twice hit buckets to extend the Islander back to four.
Nicholls would fight back, while the Islanders struggled through a cold spell in which they were 2-of-11 from the field. The Colonels would take their first lead of the game, 22-20, on a three-point basket by Bose with 2:54 left.
The Islanders regained the lead and went into the locker room with a 24-22 advantage. After a layin by Watt, Daniels broke the tie with his third basket of the half with 13 seconds left.
The Islanders remain in Louisiana for their next game as they visit Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond at 3 p.m.
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