Texas A&M-Corpus Christi defeats Southeastern for Southland tourney title

KATY, Texas – For the first time since 2007, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will participate in the Big Dance.

A stout defensive effort down the stretch was the deciding factor as the fourth-seeded Islanders topped second-seed Southeastern 73-65 Saturday night at Merrell Center, winning the 2022 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament championship and earning the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23-11) held Southeastern (19-14) without a field goal in the game’s final 5:14 while limiting them to just 37.5 percent shooting.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys,” said Islanders head coach Steve Lutz. “You always want to be playing your best basketball in March, and to these guys’ credit, they stayed the course.”

A team consisting mostly of transfers, most of whom were recruited by a first-year head coach via video conferencing, put everything together on its way to winning for the seventh time in its last eight games going into the NCAA Tournament.

“We tried to buy into everything Coach told us all season,” said Southland Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Terrion Murdix, who scored 13 points and dished out five assists on Saturday. “As you can see, it worked. We’re going to the Tournament and we’re about to be dancing.”

The Islanders scored the game’s first four points, but the Lions replied by scoring the next 13 over a span of 2:05, capped off by Burkhardt’s layup following a steal from All-SLC second team guard Keon Clergeot.

A&M-Corpus Christi weathered the initial Southeastern surge and cut the lead down to 17-14 following Simeon Fryer’s first trey of the night at 13:16 before San Antonio Brinson tied the score with a triple of his own on the Islanders’ next possession. The teams went back and forth in the middle stages of the first half with neither being able to pull away until A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI broke off a 6-0 run that was highlighted by a dunk from De’Lazarus Keys that gave them a 33-26 margin with 4:04 before intermission.

Islanders defense helped key the run, holding Southeastern without a field goal for more than six minutes as the Lions endured a 1-for-11 shooting drought that came to an end when Roscoe Eastmond scored off a layup with :46 until intermission, helping Southeastern pull to within 35-30 at the half.

Southeastern came out of the locker room with an 8-0 run that helped them take a 40-39 lead following a 3-pointer from Clergeot, who scored eight of the Lions’ first 10 points after halftime. However, the Islanders regained its composure and took a 47-42 lead with 14:34 remaining in the contest. They could not extend it further as the Lions were able to stay in range following a Joe Kasperzyk trey at the 11:46 mark.

A second Kasperzyk 3-pointer brought the Lions to within 53-51, but the Islanders again put distance between them courtesy of a Murdix layup and a Myles Smith trey to extend the A&M-Corpus Christi lead to 58-51 with 7:54 remaining.

The Islanders were able to continue its lead by shutting down the Lions offense, holding them to just one field goal in eight attempts during a stretch in which A&M-Corpus Christi kept the lead at seven closing into the final minutes of the game. Southeastern was able to get within 65-60, but the Islanders assured themselves of a ticket to the NCAA Tourney when Jalen Jackson passed to Murdix, whose basket put them up 69-60 at the 1:22 mark.

“It’s a tough way to go out for these guys,” said Southeastern head coach David Kiefer, who brought the Lions from a combined 16 wins the previous two seasons to within range of the school’s first tournament title since 2005. “This was one of the most fun teams I’ve ever been a part of.”

Kiefer credited Hinton and Ryan Burkhardt as foundational pieces that will set the Lions’ program on course in the future.

As for the Islanders, they have no intent on just showing up to face whoever they will meet in the first round.

“We have the belief we can play with anybody,” said Lutz. “We’re going into the NCAA Tournament with the mindset of winning. That’s what we set our mind to do.”

2022 Southland Men’s Basketball All-Tournament Team
Terrion Murdix, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (MVP)
Simeon Fryer, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Jalyn Hinton, Southeastern
Joe Kasperzyk, Southeastern
Troy Green, New Orleans