Jan. 2, 2006
Contact: Rick Nixon (210) 458-4551
UTSA drops overtime decision at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 91-83
Box Score
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Freshman Aldric Reynolds (Houston, Texas) scored a career-high 24 points and senior Andre Owens (Irving, Texas) added 20, but Chris Daniels led five players in double figures with 17 as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi held on for a 91-83 overtime victory over UTSA Monday night at the American Bank Center.
Reynolds scored 15 first-half points en route to his third straight career game, while Owens poured in 16 in the second half to lead the Roadrunner offense. Sophomore Roderick Rodgers also reached double digits with 12.
For the Islanders, Aaron White, Cedric Smith and Rashad Mintz scored 13 points apiece and Kevin Menifee added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Trailing 73-72 late, Reynolds made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the contest with 27.9 seconds remaining in regulation. Daniels then followed a White miss with 8.2 seconds on the clock to give the Islanders the 75-73 lead, but Rodgers (right) tipped in an Owens miss with 1.4 seconds left to force the extra frame.
TAMU-CC scored the first four points in overtime and Mintz took a steal all the way for a layup to put the Islanders up, 82-77, at the 2:42 mark. Mintz nailed a three from the left side to push the advantage to eight, 85-77, but freshman Eric Young answered with a three of his own from the left wing with 1:31 left to cut the deficit to five.
Following a White free throw, freshman Nkem Ojougboh’s layup pulled UTSA to within 86-82, but that is as close as the Roadrunners would get as the Islanders made their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the 91-83 victory.
"I was proud of our effort tonight," said UTSA head coach Tim Carter. "I know where the problem lies, we had too many turnovers to win a game like this. I told the team I was proud of them but we have to clean things up as we enter conference play later this week."
A tight contest at the break, 38-37, Owens scored nine of the first 11 points for the Roadrunners to start the second half, staking UTSA to a 48-46 lead with 15:39 remaining.
Both teams traded leads until the Islanders converted back-to-back three-point plays to take a 67-62 lead with seven minutes left. UTSA fought back to go ahead, 70-69, on an 8-2 run capped by an Owens fast break layup at the 5:11 mark.
Three early 3-pointers from Reynolds helped UTSA overcome a slow start for a 21-17 lead with 10:25 remaining in the first half. Young drained a long three from the left side to extend the lead to 26-19 at the 8:47 mark.
The Islanders forced five turnovers on the next six UTSA possessions to help them claw back to within two, 28-26, with 4:31 left. Reynolds answered the run with his fourth three of the half, and sophomore Roderick Rodgers’s driving layup and junior Gabe Bernard’s trey from the left wing quickly pushed the lead to 10.
A 12-1 run by TAMU-CC over the final three minutes helped the Islanders regain the lead, 38-37, at the break.
The Roadrunners return to action on Thursday, Jan. 5, with the Southland Conference opener at Southeastern Louisiana. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at University Center.