AMCC and Wisconsin

[kepdawg]

AMCC leads 4-0!

[kepdawg]

7-0!

[pirate4state]

:)

[kepdawg]

10-0!

[pirate4state]

YAY!!! TAMUCC

[Matthew328]

couldn't ask for a better start!

[Gobbla2001]

sthu :eek:

[carter08]

WOW

[Buccaneer]

You can always ask!

[Maroon87]

Daniels is a man among boys in the early going.

[pirate4state]

This game is gonna save my job!!! :thumbsup: If he happens to come in he'll be okay with me watching TAMUCC. :D

[kepdawg]

Originally posted by Maroon87
Daniels is a man among boys in the early going.

Is he that crazy big dude?

[Bull Butter]

What a start for the Islanders!

[Maroon87]

Originally posted by kepdawg
Is he that crazy big dude?

Yeah...#54 for the Isles.

[kepdawg]

Well, they lost the shutout! :(

15:00

10-2

[kepdawg]

13:06

15-4

AMCC shooting 2 free throws.

[kepdawg]

11:52

17-4

[Maroon87]

Kevin Menifee has made Alando Tucker disappear so far.:cool:

[Matthew328]

with the game being on TV also Daniels can get some extra rest he isnt accustomed to and that could help late...TAMU-CC does have excellent depth

[pirate4state]

Did anyone pick TAMUCC to advance??

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by pirate4state
Did anyone pick TAMUCC to advance??
I went back and changed mine, but somewhere along the way my brackets screwed up. So I had UNT advancing and in one of my groups my bracket didn't load at all.

[kepdawg]

9:18

19-4

[kepdawg]

7:47

23-7!!!

AMCC getting open dunks!

[kepdawg]

I was planning on going to get a haircut and do some other things during this game, but now I don't want to leave.

[kepdawg]

Scooby is in the game!

[kepdawg]

3:54

25-9

[Matthew328]

Wisconsin is gonna make a run...I have a feeling its coming up right before the half...lets see how TAMU-CC weathers it....

[CHS_CG]

Wisconsin needs to do something.. they are screwing my bracket up!

[Matthew328]

screw the bracket...I wanna see the underdog do well!

[Snydertigersrul]

Originally posted by Matthew328
Wisconsin is gonna make a run...I have a feeling its coming up right before the half...lets see how TAMU-CC weathers it....


GO ISLANDERS. Wow, first year in the NCAA and they could make the Final Four.

:)

[Emerson1]

Originally posted by CHS_CG
Wisconsin needs to do something.. they are screwing my bracket up!
Are you one of the %1.2 who have A&M winning it all?

[Matthew328]

here they come...

[kepdawg]

3:15

25-13

[kepdawg]

Halftime

AMCC 27 WISC 19

[Bull Butter]

27-19 halftime

[Matthew328]

Hard to say the Islanders could be disappointed with an 8 point lead at the half...BUT after being up 18 they should be

[pirate4state]

should be an interesting 2nd half

[CHS_CG]

Originally posted by Emerson1
Are you one of the %1.2 who have A&M winning it all?

no sir!

[eagles_victory]

Wisconsin looks poised to come out and take this game in the second half but i hope im wrong and the islanders hold on

[kepdawg]

Originally posted by Matthew328
Hard to say the Islanders could be disappointed with an 8 point lead at the half...BUT after being up 18 they should be

BUT nothing! They should be very happy!



Naaa they were up by 18...I say they should be disappointed..they had several chances to extend the lead....

[TexasHSFootball]

I have TAMU-CC winning in my bracket :D

[pirate4state]

not me and the worst part is I have Wisconsin in the Elite 8 :eek:

they'll pick it up in the 2nd half, but I am still pulling for TAMUCC :D

[Maroon87]

My bracket is so bad right now I don't even care anymore.:confused: :mad:

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Maroon87
My bracket is so bad right now I don't even care anymore.:confused: :mad: heehee :D:D:D

[Maroon87]

Originally posted by pirate4state
heehee :D:D:D

Don't laugh...Notre Dame just got beat.:p

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Maroon87
Don't laugh...Notre Dame just got beat.:p That's okay. I picked Winthrop to upset them!!! *doing the happy dance* :D

[CHS_CG]

Originally posted by pirate4state
That's okay. I picked Winthrop to upset them!!! *doing the happy dance* :D

i didnt stupid ND!

[Maroon87]

Originally posted by pirate4state
That's okay. I picked Winthrop to upset them!!! *doing the happy dance* :D

I thought you said you picked ND?:thinking:

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Maroon87
I thought you said you picked ND?:thinking: No, I said I was worried they'd win. We are in the same group. Go check out my bracket if you don't believe me. :p

[Maroon87]

Originally posted by pirate4state
No, I said I was worried they'd win. We are in the same group. Go check out my bracket if you don't believe me. :p

Whatever...:rolleyes:

[Matthew328]

A&M-CC has stretched the lead to 11.....good job

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Maroon87
Whatever...:rolleyes:

ROFL!!

Nevada needs to quit messing around and put Creighton away. :mad:

[Emerson1]

I want Wisconsin to win just because I am mad I forgot to change my bracket.:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Matthew328]

lead is now 4......

[Matthew328]

big three for the Islanders...now they have the ball back....go inside to Daniels!

[Maroon87]

Originally posted by pirate4state
ROFL!!

Nevada needs to quit messing around and put Creighton away. :mad:

No way! I need Creighton to win. C'mon Bluejays!:clap:

[Maroon87]

Isles look a little gassed. Thank God for TV timeouts.:cool:

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Maroon87
No way! I need Creighton to win. C'mon Bluejays!:clap:

No!! Nevada is up by 1, but there is still plenty of time in the game.

[kepdawg]

I just got home from getting my haircut!

What did you guys do?

It's tied!

[Matthew328]

Wisconsin has turned it up....

[Phil C]

Go Islanders!

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by Matthew328
Wisconsin has turned it up.... good for my bracket, bad news for the Islanders :(

[kaorder1999]

go islanders......

[kaorder1999]

i hate this going back and forth from games to games....makes me nervous...

[Matthew328]

I think A&M is done :(

[kaorder1999]

i wish I knew...they arent showing it...im having to watch the end of another game...

[pirate4state]

:mad: OT for Nevada - they better get it together.

c'mon Isles!!!

[kaorder1999]

i think the islanders are done

[Maroon87]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
i think the islanders are done

They need a miracle.:(

[Matthew328]

A&M Corpus Christi made a great showing they should be proud....hopefully they can get a nice recruiting class come in and with Daniels back (hopefully) they have a shot to make some noise next year

[kaorder1999]

Dan from BAD Radio said that not only would Wisconsin come back but they would win by double digits

[kaorder1999]

i had Creighton over Nevada....crap

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
i had Creighton over Nevada....crap is that game over??

[kaorder1999]

almost....25 secs left....

[kaorder1999]

71-74 nevada with 11 secs left...nevada goes to line for two ft's

[pirate4state]

YES!! I have Nevada over Creighton :D

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by pirate4state
YES!! I have Nevada over Creighton :D
quit bragging...i like going with the underdogs!!

[Maroon87]

Great season Islanders! You showed you could hang with the best of 'em! The future is bright on "the island.":clap:

[Bull Butter]

Islanders fall 76-63:(

Congrats on a great season! You made all of South Texas proud.

[kaorder1999]

that was a great showing by TAMU-CC....they got some national attention! That will help big time with recruiting

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
quit bragging...i like going with the underdogs!!

woo hoo

[Maroon87]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
that was a great showing by TAMU-CC....they got some national attention! That will help big time with recruiting

No kidding...when Jim Nantz and Billy Packer are announcing your game, you've hit the big time.:cool:

[Bull Butter]

Billy Packer is not a fan of mid-majors being in the tournament. It was good to hear him slobbering all over the Islanders when they were dominating the first half.

[Maroon87]

Islanders scare Badgers but fall short
By Kieran Darcy

CHICAGO -- It was a startling sight, seeing this group of young men in Auxiliary Locker Room No. 2 look so down. Kevin Menifee, staring at the floor. Seth Engelken, starting to tear up. Scooby Johnson, dead silent.

About three hours earlier, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders had been on top of the world, huddled together and whooping it up in the hallway outside that same locker room, about to run out onto the United Center floor and play their first NCAA Tournament game.

That's the cruelty of postseason play -- something the Islanders just experienced for the very first time.

But for a couple hours on Friday afternoon, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi gave this tournament some juice. They certainly electrified everyone in the United Center who wasn't wearing Wisconsin red. But in the end, they ran out of gas, simple as that.

"You can't let up on a team like that," said A&M-CC coach Ronnie Arrow after the game, a 76-63 loss. "Once you get them down, you've got to go for the jugular vein ... we just didn't finish it."

It certainly was a heck of a start though. When the two teams took the floor for the opening tip, they did look a little mismatched physically. Forward Seth Engelken looked a little skinnier. Center Chris Daniels looked ... well, a little wider. But then Engelken hit a jumper. And Daniels stuffed a couple shots. And Menifee made a layup. And Taurean Mitchell hit a 3 ... and another one.

Suddenly the Islanders had jumped out to a 10-0 lead, stunning the Badgers -- just like Arrow had talked about doing at practice on Thursday.

From that point on, the Islanders had every non-Wisconsin fan in the building on their side. And they didn't back down. In fact, they stepped it up, racing out to a 25-7 lead with 5:29 left in the first half. Arrow was talking to a ref and actually slapped him 5. CBS announcer Jim Nantz turned around to look at the Islanders fans behind him, and had a big smile on his face.

You couldn't help but get that feeling that something special was brewing, in a way only the NCAA Tournament can provide.


At one point one of the reporters from the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison's morning newspaper, remarked about Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, "They're too good a story. No, it just can't happen."

Alas, he was right. Wisconsin cut the deficit to 27-19 at halftime. And even though it'd been a great first half for Cinderella fans, you got the sense that the second half wouldn't be nearly as comfortable.

The Islanders fired back early in the second half, pushing the lead back up to 40-28 with 14:56 left on Johnson's 3-point play. But it was downhill from there. Kammron Taylor and Alando Tucker -- Wisconsin "two pros," as Arrow called them -- got hot from the perimeter, and the Badgers stormed back. The Islanders simply didn't have enough energy in the tank.

With two minutes remaining and the game effectively out of reach at 68-58, Arrow stood in front of his bench and just shook his head, hands on his hips, and took a long exhale. It seemed like he was going to call off the dogs and have his team stop fouling -- but then he suddenly screamed: "Foul! Foul!" As if he had changed his mind. As if he didn't want it all to end.

"The ride has been good and I love all of these guys in this program," Mitchell, one of seven seniors on the team, said after the game. "I've been here four years. If I could do it again, I'd do it again with these guys."

It's a shame the final score wasn't closer. Because this was a much better game than the 13-point final margin. These Islanders showed America they can play. They showed they belonged on this stage. Unfortunately, this game didn't end with a walk over to their fans to celebrate. It ended with a slow walk down the handshake line, and an even slower walk back to Auxiliary Locker Room No. 2.

"It really hurts at this point," said starting guard Josh Ervin. "We didn't come here to lose. We know we had a great season, we know it was a tremendous ride, but we came here to win some games."

Back in that locker room after the game, a large dry-erase board still showed Arrow's pregame notes for his team. There were 14 of them -- but the very last one stood out.

Champions aren't the largest team, they have the largest heart. Win!

The Islanders didn't win this game. But they won this March, believe me. They won their first conference championship. They won the opportunity to play in an NCAA Tournament -- in a sub-regional that included such storied programs as Kentucky and Kansas -- and they gave a No. 2 seed a serious run for their money. They put this little school on an island from south Texas on the map. And despite the heartache, this will be the memory of a lifetime.

"These guys have been super," said Arrow. "These guys have been here four and five years. They put a lot of hard work in and they've done a lot for this program, for the university, for the town. We've had a lot of wins. We've had a lot of fun. Right now, we don't feel very good, but when you look back to what these young men have done for this program, it speaks for itself. There's work to be done. It's a work in progress, and we're looking forward to coming back."

When the Islanders' bus pulled slowly out of the United Center at 5:50 p.m., this reporter was pretty bummed. But as he sat back down at his computer, he caught a glimpse of the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi postseason media guide. And his eyes rested on the picture on the front cover -- from Houston, five days ago -- of 15 smiles, frozen in time. One shining moment, indeed.

It was a pleasure, and a privilege, to be along for the ride.

[sinton66]

Congratulations to the Islanders on a great first conference season. A conference title and a trip to the playoffs isn't a bad way to start your official league play. I guarantee that you got Wisconsin's attention. Best of luck to you in the future.

[Buccaneer]

Congratulations, Islanders on giving up 57 second half points!