Published: February 03, 2007 01:41 am            

Islanders pose big challenge for Bearkats

There wasn’t much talk about Southland Conference newcomer Texas A&M-Corpus Christi when basketball season tipped off back in November.

But the boys from the coast have suddenly become the team to beat in the race for the regular-season SLC title and are currently 7-0 in league action thanks to a 10-game winning streak.

Sam Houston State (5-2 in SLC, 14-7 overall) will try to hand the Islanders their first conference loss today when the Bearkats make the long trip down to the beach for a 7 p.m. tipoff.

“They have won 10 in a row, they have three players 6-10 or bigger, are more athletic and have three fifth-year seniors,” SHSU head coach Bob Marlin said Friday. “They have more experience than we do. On paper, they are the best team we have faced. We are going to have to play one of our best games of the year to have a chance.”

The Islanders have four players averaging more than 10 points a game in conference play. Leading the way is 7-foot, 265-pound senior center Chris Daniels, who is scoring 17.3 points a night and is hitting a blistering 64 percent of his attempts thanks to high percentage shots underneath the basket.

Corpus has two other inside guys which have been lighting it up. Forward Cedric Smith (6-7) is averaging 11.4 points and shooting 65 percent, while Scooby Johnson (6-7) is also going for 11.4 a contest by hitting 64 percent of his shots.

If that’s not enough, senior guard Josh Washington is keeping teams honest by hitting 43 percent from behind the arc and scoring 13.4 points in conference.

The Islanders are dominating in almost every statistical category in the Southland. TAMU-CC is first in team shooting percentage (54 percent) and field goal percentage defense (39 percent), and the Islanders stand second in both scoring (79.3) and scoring defense (60.3).

“We are going to come up with a way to try and slow them down inside,” Marlin said. “Chris Daniels, Cedric Smith and Scooby Johnson are all shooting 64 percent or better. They had more dunks in the second half of their game against San Antonio than we have all season. They have a 14 percent difference in their shooting percentage and field goal defense. Ten is good, but 14 is unheard of.

“We have to play good defense on those three guys because if they come down each time and shove it down our throat, we will be in trouble. We have to execute our game plan.”

The Bearkats have won two of their last three SLC games, but were exposed inside in a loss to Texas-Arlington and a win over Texas-San Antonio on Thursday.

The Mavericks used the post attack of Jermaine Griffin, Larry Posey and Anthony Vereen, who combined for 45 points on 18-of-26, or 64 percent, shooting to beat SHSU 78-65. The Kats had a miserable night offensively in Arlington, hitting only 33 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3.

UTSA got a combined 27 points from Andrew Francis and Keith Spencer on 10-of-14 shooting, but SHSU was on fire, hitting 48 percent of its shots from the field and behind the arc.

If the Kats don’t play better defense in the paint, they have to knock down shots in order to counter Corpus and have a shot at winning.

“We knew coming in that this wasn’t going to be our best defensive year inside,” Marlin said. “The effort hasn’t always been there, but I’m asking a lot from our undersized guys to guard bigger player. We have to shoot the ball well and play good defense on those three guys to win.”

        

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