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Friday, December 29, 2000

Isles get tourney victory
Men slide past Panthers, 81-78
By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times

David Adame/Caller-Times

A&M-CC's Brian Hamilton tries to stop Birmingham's Adrian Pryor two point attempt Thursday night during the Koch Petroleum Islander Invitational.

Call them mystifying, call them nerve-wracking, call them a heart attack waiting to happen. But you've got to admit the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball team always keeps you entertained.
   A&M-Corpus Christi was at it again Thursday night, driving its coaches and fans loony during a horrific first half against Birmingham-Southern, then energizing Memorial Coliseum with a dramatic second half before nearly blowing it all in the end.
   Those among the season-best crowd of 2,043 who managed to keep their sanity until the final buzzer sounded were treated to a wild 81-78 win for the Islanders in the first round of the Koch Petroleum Islander Invitational.
   With its victory over the Panthers, A&M-Corpus Christi (6-6) advances to tonight's tournament final against Cleveland State, which topped Winthrop, 60-53, in Thursday's first game. The Islanders and Vikings will tip off at approximately 8 p.m., or 30 minutes following the consolation game between Winthrop and Birmingham-Southern.
   For a while, it looked like A&M-Corpus Christi would be playing in the 6 p.m. game, not the championship. During a frightful first half of play, the Islanders shot 34 percent from the field and watched as Birmingham-Southern hit at a 61 percent clip to take a 37-31 lead at the break.
   "Coach got on us real good in the locker room," said forward Michael Hicks, who led the way with 28 points and eight rebounds. "We came out ready to play in the second half."
   That they did. The Islanders opened the second half in a full-court press and never let up. In a stifling performance, A&M-Corpus Christi forced the Panthers (5-6) into 29 turnovers while producing a team-record 19 steals.
   "We played the first half as one player, everybody tried to do something for themselves. And it didn't work," said guard Arunas Drasutis, who had 12 points and five rebounds and was one of the catalysts of the press. "When we came back (in the second half), we started playing as a team."
   Hicks, the nation's leading scorer, upped his points-per-game average slightly with his 28-point effort. Freshman point guard Brian Evans went 6 of 10 from the floor to finish with 15 points and eight assists, while fellow freshman Brian Hamilton turned into an instant crowd favorite by picking up four steals and leading the press.
   "That's his job, to energize us," said A&M-Corpus Christi assistant coach Bobby Taylor of the 6-foot-5 Hamilton. "Other guys feed off his energy."
   After clawing their way back to turn an 11-point deficit into an 8-point lead, the Islanders nearly botched it all up. Birmingham-Southern, behind a spectacular effort from Joe Ransom, rallied to get within 3.
   Ransom, who made 12 of 19 shots from the field, matched Hicks with 28 points and pulled down 12 boards. Down the stretch, he accounted for the Panthers' last 14 points.
   With the score 81-78 and 33 seconds remaining, Birmingham-Southern was slapped with a technical foul after guard Todd Ginn tried to call timeout when the team had none to spare. But Drasutis, a 90 percent free-throw shooter, missed his technical attempt, and the Panthers had one last chance to tie the game.
   Make that four last chances. In the final 24 seconds, Birmingham-Southern managed to get four 3-point attempts off, a couple of them on good looks to the basket. But Evans finally pulled down the rebound for A&M-Corpus Christi and ran out the clock to end the game.
   "We were trying for the ball, but it basically kept going right into their hands," said Hicks of the final possession. I was happy they didn't make the shot, because we might have lost the game in overtime."



Staff writer Mark Zuckerman can be reached at 886-3747 or by e-mail at zuckermanm@caller.com

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