Islanders Sink Bobcats in Corpus Christi

The first meeting between the Islanders and Bobcats on January 13th snapped the ‘Cats then 4-game winning streak. It was Texas State's first loss of 2010 and their first home loss since November. Their second meeting, played in Corpus Christi last night, unfortunately had the same outcome.

Texas State lost in a nail-biter 63-60 Wednesday night against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, a team that has won 8 of their last 10 games. The final score undoubtedly mirrored the feel of the entire game. Apart from a 10 point lead held by the Islanders late in the game, the lead was being bounced back and forth like a game of "Hot Potato". The Bobcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead early, but the Islanders answered quickly to knot it up at 4 apiece. This pattern continued through the first half, which included 8 lead changes and 6 ties. The Bobcats held the lead at halftime 29-28, thanks to a J.B. Conley jumper at the buzzer. With a low scoring first half full of tight defense and missed shots, Texas State seemed to be in a great position to take down the Islanders on their home court.

The second half moved along much more rapidly. The difference being once the Islanders took the lead on a Kevin Palmer three-pointer at the 15 minute mark, they never looked back. The Bobcats managed to stay right on their heels however, answering everything the Islanders threw at them. It wasn’t until 9 minutes left when the Bobcats' rug seemed to be pulled out from under them. A&M Corpus Christi went on a 10-3 run thanks to a slew of made shots by Kevin Palmer and Demond Watt. With 5 minutes left, the Islanders were all but hearing the fat lady sing as the scoreboard read Home Team 61, Away Team 51.

Texas State’s Cameron Johnson apparently didn’t hear anyone.

Johnson went on a personal 5 point run, and thanks to a Conley slam dunk, the Bobcats were down 3 with only 3 minutes left. A Johnson free throw closed the deficit to 2 with a minute remaining. With 8 seconds left and down 63-60, the Bobcats began their sprint down the court, used only two passes, and eventually found J.B. Conley patiently waiting behind the arc to toss up the potential game-tying shot as the buzzer sounded. Front iron. Ball game.

Like all losses, there are key areas where one could find the reason for coming up short. Coach Davalos, during his pre-game interview, discussed what needed to be done to win. “We have to come out playing smart. We feel we didn’t give out best shot last time against them, so this time we have to start smart, stay consistent, and most of all---out-rebound.” Davalos and the Bobcats went into the game with the correct mentality, however rebounds were indeed the answer as the Islanders controlled the boards 37-27. “We got crushed on the boards,” Davalos said after the game. Apart from the Cameron Johnson Show, which included another double-double as he lit up the scoreboard with 21 points and snagged 11 boards, Tony Bishop was the only other Bobcat to net more than 5 rebounds. It probably didn’t help having 6’7” forward Emmanuel Badias A’Moute play only 5 minutes of the game. He was sidelined with an ankle injury early, and never returned.

Ryan White accrued 12 points, Conley managed 8, and off the bench, John Rybak nailed two crucial three pointers to end up with 6 points and 4 rebounds. For the Islanders, the man of the night was Kevin Palmer who had 21 of his 26 points come in the second half. He also grabbed 5 boards. Demond Watt ended with 16 and 5 rebounds, while LaMarr Drake threw in his two cents with 8 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds.

The loss puts the Bobcats at 5-5 in the conference and 11-13 overall. It may look tough to overcome, but with teams like Nicholls, Northwestern, and Central Arkansas struggling, the bottom seeds for the conference tournament are still up for grabs. The Bobcats will host Lamar this Saturday at Strahan at 4 pm, then travel to take on Nicholls State a week later. You can listen to the Lamar game on 89.9 FM and ktsw.net.

-Andrew Vizzone, KTSW Sports Staff Writer