BOX SCORE | PHOTOS (SOUTHLAND) | POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
LAKE CHARLES, La. – The No. 4 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (18-14, 13-9 Southland) withstood a second-half rally to defeat the No. 5 seed University of New Orleans Privaters (15-18, 12-10 Southland) 74-61 in the Southland Conference quarterfinals Monday.
Trailing by 16 with 2:37 remaining in the first half, New Orleans clawed its way back to a single-digit deficit at the break. A personal foul on
Coleton Benson was reviewed and reversed to a flagrant foul on Daniel Michelini-Jackson with 2:05 to play in the half. The Austin native sank a pair of free throws before connecting on his first 3-pointer of the evening—the five-point swing gave the Privateers much-needed momentum, and they trailed 37-30 at halftime.
UNO came out swinging in the second half and took its first lead since three minutes into the contest when
TJ Cope threw down a right-handed dunk to make the score 43-42 with 15:16 remaining. Cope finished with 14 points on and a career-high seven made field goals.
Another 3-pointer from Benson gave the Privateers a 46-44 lead with just over 13 minutes to play. The Islanders then used an 8-0 run to take the lead for good, with UNO getting as close as six points before eventually losing by 13.
MJ Thomas collected the 13th double-double of his career and seventh this season. The sophomore grabbed 14 rebounds to go with his 17 points, including a 3-pointer in the second half. Benson also finished with 17 points in his final game as a Privateer. The senior made three from beyond the arc and finished his season with 86 made triples, passing Bryson Robinson for second all-time in a single season at UNO.
Jakevion Buckley passed Jimmie Smith for the most assists in a season in school history when he found Benson in the corner for an open three early in the second half. Smith had previously held the record (178) for the past 21 years. Buckley finished the season with 179.
Michelini-Jackson was a one-man show in the first half for the Islanders, scoring 15 of his career-high 28 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. He finished 10-of-12 from the field after knocking down his first eight shots and added a career-high
8 rebounds.
The difference in the game came on the glass, with the Islanders outrebounding the Privateers 41-29. Corpus Christi had 24 defensive rebounds to New Orleans' 11. They also outscored UNO 24-11 on second-chance points.
New Orleans wraps up its 2025-2026 season with 11 more wins than last season—the second-best turnaround in program history. Only Ron Green's 1973-1974 squad (12 wins) had a bigger win difference from one year to the next. A 10-win improvement in league play matched Tim Floyd's 1992-1993 team for the biggest conference improvement in program history as well.
Only Miami (+17 wins), Green Bay (+14 wins), Seton Hall (+13 wins) and Stephen F. Austin (+13 wins) have improved by more wins from last season to this season. Central Arkansas, Utah Tech and Virginia also improved by 11 wins during 2025-2026.
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