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Sunday, February 11, 2001
Islanders double their fun
Men drop NAIA’s Texas College, 89-66
By Matt Young
Caller-Times

George Gongora/Caller-Times

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Shaun Hemsley (40) goes up for the shot as Texas College’s James Cannon looks on Saturday night at Memorial Coliseum. The Islanders won the game, 89-66.

Texas College didn't have much time to warm up after arriving at Memorial Coliseum late, but it didn't take Texas A&M-Corpus Christi long to light the Steers up.
   A&M-Corpus Christi exploded out of the gates to blow away Texas College, 89-66, Saturday. The Steers made the score look a lot closer when Toshain Marks drilled five straight 3-pointers in the game's final two minutes to end the game with a 15-0 run by Texas College.
   Texas College, which competes in the NAIA, arrived at the Coliseum 30 minutes before the opening tip and had only about 10 minutes to warm up. According to Texas College coach Michael Vickerstaff, the team's bus driver got lost on the drive from Tyler to Corpus Christi. While the Steers were still finding their legs, the Islanders were putting on a show. The Islanders scored the game's first 15 points and led 24-1 before Texas College made its first field goal with 11:07 left in the first half. The Steers missed their first 13 shots of the game and committed eight turnovers before getting that first basket.
   Michael Hicks led the destruction for A&M-Corpus Christi (12-13) with 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting.
   "This was one of those games where everyone plays well and everyone has fun," said A&M-Corpus Christi guard Lee Denmon, who finished with 15 points. "Everyone contributed whether it was scoring, rebound or getting assists."
   As if the score wasn't dominating enough, Hicks showed his dominance in a couple highlight-reel worthy plays.
   Leading 40-18 with 1:57 left, A&M-Corpus Christi came up with a steal under its own basket. Brian Hamilton spotted Hicks sprinting back to the hole and hit him with a pass at the free-throw line. As Hicks took the pass, Texas College's Marquet Norfleet set up under the basket to take a charge. Hicks, still running at full steam, took off about 10 feet away from the basket and threw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk on Norfleet's head. To add insult to the humiliation, Norfleet was called for a blocking foul.
   "I wasn't on the floor for that dunk, I was on the bench, but I definitely wasn't in my seat when he threw it down," Denmon said. "That was an NBA highlight."
   In the second half, the Islanders played the role of the Globetrotters to Texas College's Washington Generals once again. A&M-Corpus Christi's Armond Wainright led a two-on-one fast break with Hicks on the wing. Wainright hung an underhanded alley-oop pass way up in the air, and Hicks went up and got it for the two-handed jam. For those still interested in the score, that gave the Islanders a 70-39 lead with 8:30 left in the game.
   "I think there were a lot of fans at the game that had never been here before, but had probably heard about Michael Hicks," A&M-Corpus Christi coach Ronnie Arrow said. "Now they know he's the real deal after a couple of those plays."

   TEXAS COLLEGE (8-18) -- Lemon 1-5 0-0 2, Robinson 6-21 6-9 18, Humphrey 4-9 2-3 10, Marks 8-14 0-0 21, Fitch 0-5 0-0 0, Crowder 1-1 0-0 3, Cannon 6-11 0-0 12, Norfleet 0-4 0-0 0, Mack 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS 26-72 8-12 66 TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI (12-13) -- Hicks 11-13 9-10 31, Shultz 3-7 2-8 8, Diene 0-2 0-0 0, Evans 2-3 0-0 5, Wainright 2-7 0-0 4, McBride 1-2 2-2 4, Denmon 6-10 0-0 15, Orta 0-2 0-0 0, Pitre 0-0 0-0 0, Drasutis 0-5 2-2 2, Atsbeha 2-3 1-2 7, Hamilton 1-5 0-0 2, Kirkaldy 5-10 1-2 11, Hemsley 0-3 0-0 0. TOTALS 33-72 17-21 89
   Halftime-Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 49, Texas College 26. 3-point goals-Texas College 6-16 (Marks 5-9, Crowder 1-1, Norfleet 0-3, Robinson 0-1, Humphrey 0-1, Fitch 0-1), A&M-Corpus Christi 6-19 (Denmon 3-5, Atsbeha 2-3, Evans 1-2, Orta 0-2, Hicks 0-1, McBride 0-1, Drasutis 0-1). Fouled out-none. Rebounds-Texas College 47 (Cannon 12), A&M-Corpus Christi 42 (Kirkaldy 8). Assists-Texas College 5 (Marks 2), A&M-Corpus Christi 22 (Wainright, Denmon 6). Total fouls-Texas College 18, A&M-Corpus Christi 15. A--2,026 (3,500).


Staff writer Matt Young can be reached at 886-3702 or by e-mail at youngm@caller.com

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