February 28, 2008 - The Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi men’s basketball team is fighting for its Southland Conference Tournament lives as the Islanders currently sit in ninth place and host league-leading Lamar Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on FSN Southwest.
The top eight teams in the league advance to the SLC Tournament with the winner getting an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament regardless of overall record. The Islanders are currently tied with McNeese for the eighth and final spot, but the Cowboys won the head-to-head meeting, which gives them the tie breaker.
Lamar is the hottest team in the league with 10-straight wins and an overall record of 17-8, despite starting the year 1-5. They hold the league’s best conference mark at 11-1 with its only setback coming against Stephen F. Austin.
The Islanders on the other hand are 8-17 overall with a 5-7 league mark and have dropped two straight. A&M-Corpus; Christi has never beaten the Cardinals in the previous three meetings, including last year when Lamar took a 78-77 win in Beaumont on a last second bucket by Darren Hopkins. The Cardinal guard is back once again and is one of four players averaging in double-figures with 11 points per contest.
Kenny Dawkins leads the team with 14.6 per game and also has the team lead in three-point baskets made with 58. He is currently hitting 41 percent from long range and is the team’s best free throw shooter at 86 percent. Lamar Sanders leads the rebounding department with seven a game and is second with 11.9 points per contest.
Horace Bond tied a career-high with 11 points at UT Arlington, hitting 5-of-6 from the field with five rebounds. Senior Chris Daniels continues to lead the team with 12.4 points per contest and is second with 6.3 rebounds per game. A year ago Daniels scored a team-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
After the Lamar game, the Islanders will head to San Antonio to face UTSA on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center.
Courtesy: Texas A&M-Corpus; Christi Sports Information
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