Thomas passes 2,000, lifts A&M-CC by UMBC 79-61 in CIT semi

Mar 30, 2017, 03:58 am

BALTIMORE -- Rashawn Thomas scored 23 points, becoming the first player in Texas A&M-Corpus Christi history to surpass 2,000, and the Islanders dominated the second half to defeat UMBC 79-61 on Wednesday night in the finals of the CIT.

Kareem South added 20 points for the Islanders (24-11), who play at home on Friday in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament championship game against Saint Peter's. Ehab Amin added 16 points and Joseph Kilgore had 14.

Rodney Elliott and Will Darley had 15 points apiece for the Terriers (21-12), who finished with the second most wins in their Division I history under first-year coach Ryan Odom. UMBC won just seven games last year.

UMBC led by 10 late in the first half but the Islanders, who shot 31 percent, cut that in half at the break. Behind Thomas and South, who combined for 29 points, the Islanders shot 73 percent (19 of 26) in the second half. That included 8 of 11 3-pointers with South going 4 for 4.

The Terriers opened the second half making 7 of 8 shots for an 18-3 run, with South hitting two of the four 3s That made it a 47-37 game and a 10-0 run pushed the lead to 15 with 5:15 to play.