Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Islanders struggle against Aztecs, 84-70, in first of road swing

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Friday, January 5, 2001

Islanders struggle against Aztecs, 84-70, in first of road swing

By Mark Zuckerman
Caller-Times
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - A trip to nearby Mission Beach wasn't in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's pregame plans Thursday, but the Islanders sure looked like they were caught napping against San Diego State.
   In one of its more uninspiring performances of the season, A&M-Corpus Christi shot a miserable 34 percent from the field in an 84-70 loss to the Aztecs in front of 3,216 fans in a late-night start at Cox Arena.
   Playing in the first game on a weeklong West Coast road trip, the Islanders (6-8) dug themselves into a 21-point hole and could never get back within single digits, dropping their second game in a row after winning three straight.
   As has been the case several times this season, the Islanders came out of the gates ice cold from the floor, hitting a dismal 11 of 34 shots (32.4 percent) in the first half. Things hardly got better in the second half, with A&M-Corpus Christi struggling to hit nearly every basket, ending with its worst shooting percentage of the season.
   Head coach Ronnie Arrow trotted out a new-look starting lineup of Brian Evans, Arunas Drasutis, Brian Hamilton, Michael Hicks and Pathe Diene, but the coach spent the entire game tinkering with his squad, ushering players in and out in an attempt to find a combination that worked.
   In the end, A&M-Corpus Christi played only about five minutes of quality basketball, using its full-court press to cut a 21-point lead to 10 with 5:32 remaining.
   But the rally was short-lived; San Diego State (9-3) scored eight of the next 10 points to extend its lead back to 16.
   Hicks, leading the nation in scoring, struggled through one of his worst games of the year, scoring 16 points in only 21 minutes of action before fouling out with 4:49 left. Lee Denmon came off the bench to score 16 points, but no other Islander finished with more than seven points or five rebounds.
   The Aztecs, meanwhile, shot a blistering 59 percent from the field (61 in the second half) to run away with the game and earn their fifth-straight win. Three players scored 20 or more points, led by forward Randy Holcomb's monstrous 26-point, 13-rebound effort. Fellow big man Myron Epps had 21 points and 12 boards, while guard Al Faux netted 22 points.
   A&M-Corpus Christi now heads from the sunshine of Southern California to the brisk mountain air of Provo, Utah, for a Saturday night game at BYU. The Islanders will finish the road trip with a game Tuesday at Cal Poly.
   TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI (6-8) - Hamilton 1-2 2-4 4, Hicks 7-12 2-2 16, Diene 1-1 0-1 2, Evans 3-8 0-0 6, Drasutis 1-7 2-2 5, McBride 1-2 2-4 5, Denmon 6-18 0-0 16, Atsbeha 1-3 0-0 3, Wainright 1-7 0-0 2, Shultz 1-2 2-3 4, Kirkaldy 2-9 3-4 7, Hemsley 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 25-73 13-22 70.
   SAN DIEGO STATE (9-3) - Holcomb 9-15 8-11 26, Epps 8-10 5-8 21, Correa 2-2 0-0 4, Faux 7-13 6-8 22, Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Walton 0-0 1-2 1, Kovacic 1-3 0-0 3, Abramowitz 1-2 0-0 3, Torres 0-0 0-0 0, Wardrop 0-0 0-0 0, Marion 0-0 0-0 0, Sanders 1-2 2-2 4. Totals 29-49 22-31 84.
   Halftime - San Diego State 42, A&M-Corpus Christi 29. 3-point goals - A&M-Corpus Christi 7-27 (Denmon 4-12, McBride 1-2, Atsbeha 1-3, Drasutis 1-5, Evans 0-1, Hamilton 0-1, Wainright 0-3), San Diego State 4-14 (Faux 2-5, Abramowitz 1-2, Kovacic 1-3, Holcomb 0-2, Moore 0-2). Technical foul - A&M-Corpus Christi bench. Fouled out - Hicks, Drasutis, Sanders. Rebounds - A&M-Corpus Christi 36 (Kirkaldy 5), San Diego State 44 (Holcomb 13). Assists - A&M-Corpus Christi 14 (Atsbeha 3), San Diego State 20 (Faux 6). Total fouls - A&M-Corpus Christi 25, San Diego State 22. A - 3,126 (12,414).

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