Box Score CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Will Nelson and Johnathan Jordan combined to score 44 points as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi shot a season-high 61 percent from the floor and pulled away to a 78-64 Southland Conference victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday at American Bank Center.
Nelson, a Port Allen native, scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help A&M-CC (5-21, 4-10 SLC) snap a three-game losing streak. Jordan added 21 points on 8 of 9 aim from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, as the Islanders finished 26-for-43 (60.5 percent) from the floor and 6-for-9 from behind the 3-point line.
Southeastern (10-16, 8-7 SLC), which remained one game ahead of Sam Houston State in fourth place in the Southland Conference standings, led 26-22 on a 3-pointer by
Todd Nelson with 6:11 remaining in the first half before the Islanders chipped away at the lead.
Nelson, who finished 5-for-7 from the floor and 12-for-14 from the line, sank a pair of free throws with 4:13 remaining in the first half before Cole Martinez was fouled on an attempted 3-pointer and made all three free throws for a 27-26 lead at the 2:52 mark.
A free throw by
Roger Woods and a 3-pointer by
Brandon Fortenberry helped Southeastern regain the lead at 30-27, but A&M-CC scored the final eight points of the half as a pair of 3-pointers by Jelani Currie and a bucket by Nelson gave the Islanders a 35-30 lead at intermission.
The Lions got as close as 44-40 on a free throw by
Roosevelt Johnson with 14:04 remaining, but Jordan answered with a 3-pointer and the Islanders would eventually push their lead to 56-46 on a jumper by Brandon Pye with 9:06 left.
After a 3-pointer by
Jeffery Ricard cut the Islander lead to 60-53 with 7:15 remaining, A&M-CC put the game away with a 10-0 run which was capped by a Jordan bucket in the lane for a 70-53 lead with 3:37 left.
Johnson scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Southeastern, which finished 19-for-41 (46.3 percent) from the floor while sinking a season-high 11 3-pointers.
Dre Evans added 14 points for the Lions, going 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point line, while Ricard chipped in with 13.
Southeastern will close out its 2012-13 road schedule on Saturday when it faces SHSU (14-14, 7-8 SLC) in a 3:45 contest. The game can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU-FM (90.9) and on the internet at www.LionSports.net.
