Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Gents squeak past Islanders, 82-80

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Sunday, January 28, 2001

Gents squeak past Islanders, 82-80
Hicks held to 10 points in foul-filled game as A&M-CC loses to Centenary
By Matt Young
Caller-Times
SHREVEPORT, La. - The Michael Hicks vs. Ronnie McCollum heavyweight scoring showdown was a no contest.
   While McCollum, the nation's leading scorer at 27.6 points per game, threw power punches throughout the game with a dizzying array of jumpers, Hicks, second in the nation in scoring, had trouble getting out of the corner after getting into early foul trouble.
   McCollum ended the matchup with a knockout 10-foot baseline jumper with two seconds left to give Centenary an 82-80 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (10-11) on Saturday at the Gold Dome.
   McCollum bobbed and weaved his way to a career-high 40 points, while Hicks fouled out with a season-low 10 points in just 17 minutes.
   "I don't think me or Mike Hicks care that much about this scoring matchup or whatever, we're just trying to win games," McCollum said. "It's tough that he had to sit out so much, but I'm just glad we got the win."
   Even though Hicks played only three minutes in the second half, A&M-Corpus Christi hung tough throughout the game courtesy of Damian Kirkaldy's career-high 21 points. Centenary (7-12) led for much of the second half, but the Islanders never let the Gents run away, keeping the deficit at 5 points or fewer the entire game.
   Trailing 80-78 with 35 seconds left, A&M-Corpus Christi got the ball back after forcing Centenary into a 10-second backcourt violation. With a chance to tie, A&M-Corpus Christi got the ball to Lee Denmon, who tossed in a running floater in the lane to tie the score at 80 with 24 seconds left.
   Everyone knew the last shot was going to McCollum, but it didn't mean anyone could stop him. With Armond Wainright in his face, McCollum drove to the left baseline, hung in the air and double-pumped before letting go of the jumper that bounced twice on the rim before settling in the bottom of the net with two seconds left.
   "We knew Corpus Christi was going to have to make a decision to either double-team Ronnie or try to stop him one on one," Centenary coach Kevin Johnson said. "I got confidence that Ronnie will score on anyone if only one guy's guarding him, and I had confidence that if he got doubled he'd find the open man."
   A&M-Corpus Christi coach Ronnie Arrow said double-teaming McCollum was out of the question.
   "The only thing worse than a guy that scores 40 points a game beating you on a last shot is that guy passing the ball to a wide-open man to beat you," Arrow said. "If he was going to beat us, he was going to have to beat us against tough defense. Armond Wainright played him well, he just hit a tough shot, and that's all you can say about it."
   While Centenary's leading scorer was hitting the game-winner, the Islanders' main man was forced to watch. Hicks picked up his fourth foul less than a minute into the second half and was chained to the bench for the next 13 minutes. A couple minutes after checking back in, Hicks picked up a loose-ball foul with 3:45 left that ended his day.
   "It was a really frustrating day," Hicks said. "I wanted to be in the game the whole second half, but coach didn't want to put me in and have me foul out real quick. I got in late, but picked up the fifth foul. I was just trying to help my team, but I still got the foul."

   TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI (10-11) - Evans 2-5 5-6 9, Hicks 2-12 6-8 10, Atsbeha 4-7 1-1 12, Hemsley 2-3 0-1 4, Diene 0-0 0-0 0, McBride 0-0 0-0 0, Denmon 4-8 0-0 10, Drasutis 2-2 1-2 7, Hamilton 1-1 2-3 4, Wainright 1-4 0-2 3, Kirkaldy 9-16 3-4 21. TOTALS 27-58 18-27 80
   CENTENARY (7-12) - Gale 4-7 4-6 12, Atamah 0-4 5-6 5, McCollum 14-26 8-8 40, Odukoya 1-4 6-10 8, Tomorad 2-3 2-4 6, Reed 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 2-3 4-4 8, Harris 1-1 0-0 3, Ilic 0-0 0-0 0, Chism 0-0 0-0 0, Rabenhorst 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS 24-50 29-38 82 Halftime-Centenary 38, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 37. 3-point goals-A&M-Corpus Christi 8-16 (Atsbeha 3-4, Drasutis 2-2, Denmon 2-6, Wainright 1-3, Hicks 0-1), Centenary 5-14 (McCollum 4-11, Harris 1-1, Atamah 0-2). Fouled out-A&M-Corpus Christi, Hicks, Hemsley, Kirkaldy; Centenary, Atamah. Rebounds-A&M-Corpus Christi 26 (Kirkaldy 7), Centenary 30 (Odukoya, Gale 7). Assists-A&M-Corpus Christi 17 (Evans 7), Centenary 13 (Atamah 4). Total fouls-A&M-Corpus Christi 29, Centenary 23. A-1,276 (3,000).



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

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