CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Joseph Kilgore scored 23 points, Kareem South added 18 with three 3-pointers, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat McNeese 82-70 on Wednesday night to knock the Cowboys from Southland Conference Tournament contention.

Sean Rhea scored 17 points, Myles Smith added 14, and Elijah Schmidt grabbed 11 rebounds for the Islanders (10-17, 7-10), who entered the game 10th in conference standings. The Islanders outrebounded the Cowboys 45-28, shot 49.2 percent from the field, and led 32-31 at halftime.

South and Smith combined for three 3s in a 13-2 run and the Islanders pulled ahead 61-43 after another 13-2 run with 8:20 left. Jacob Ledoux hit three straight 3s and McNeese closed to 79-71 on Myles Hutchinson's layup with 17 seconds left, but missed three 3s before the buzzer.

Jarren Greenwood scored 18 points, Stephen Ugochukwu added 14, and Ledoux had 10 for the Cowboys (10-17, 7-10), who entered the game in eighth place and needed a win to stay eligible for a tournament berth.