CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders fans wore blue to support men's basketball on Monday. A buzzer beater putback gave McNeese State the 62-61 upset victory in the nationally televised game on ESPNU.
What started out as a back and for game, turned into a runaway at the beginning of the second half in favor of the Islanders. Corpus Christi led by as many as 18 points after going on a 20 point run with 13:25 left in the game.
The down-to-the-wire finale came down to free throws. While the Islanders made more buckets at the charity strike, 17, the Cowboys made just enough, 13 to win the game. It was actually off a McNeese State miss that Christian Shumate was able to gather the rebound and score on the putback to win the game.
"Number of new players on the team having the poise to finish a game in the last few minutes, but some of that is on me as well," Jim Shaw, Islanders men's basketball head coach. "We have got to practice more situations in practice like that."
The Cowboys capitalized on second chance points making 11 against the Islanders' 7 points. Corpus Christi's Jordan Roberts led the floor with 18 points. He acknowledged the Islanders' strong start after halftime, crediting good ball movement.
The matchup had been in favor of the Islanders over the past 10 years. Corpus Christi was on a 16-game winning streak against McNeese State going into the game.
The Islanders are back on the road this Saturday. Tipoff against Northwestern State is set for 3 p.m.
