The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men’s basketball team hit the road today for their upcoming game at Sam Houston State in Huntsville.
They’ll be taking on the Bearkats in a tough environment that will take an extra effort from the Islanders (7-9, 2-1 in Southland Conference play) to come home with a win.
“You have to be ready to handle the elements,” A&M-Corpus Christi coach Willis Wilson said. “The officiating, the crowd, just not sleeping in your own bed … the whole routine is different.
“They’re a gritty team. They want to impose their will on you by jumping out to a seven- or eight-point lead and then play even the rest of the game. I think for us, handling the first five minutes of the game and the first five minutes of the second half will really, really be important for us.”
Home court has been kind to the Bearkats (8-8, 3-0) this season. They are 6-1 when playing at home and are the only remaining undefeated team in Southland Conference play. Senior guard Emmanuel Toney also knows what the Islanders must do in order to be successful on Wednesday night.
“We just need to play our game,” said Toney, the Islanders’ third-leading scorer at 7.9 points per game and their leading playmaker with 2.6 assists per game.“We just need to come in confident and do what we do at a high level … do it with energy, play together and we’ll be fine.
Tip-off from Huntsville will be at 6:30 p.m. The Islanders’ women’s team (8-6, 2-1) will meet Sam Houston State (7-6, 2-1) at home at 7 p.m. at the Duggan Center on campus.
