Islanders primed and ready for CIT Championship Game

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For the first time ever in program history, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will play in the finals of a postseason tournament as the Islanders host Saint Peter's in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Championship on Friday night at the Dugan Wellness Center.


Saint Peter's reached the final with a dominant 77-51 victory over Furman in the semifinal. The Peacocks finished second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Friday night's championship game will also bring national television to the Island as CBS Sports Network will televise the game.


FIRST TIME EVER
>> Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is playing the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Championship for the first time in program history.
>> The Islanders used a 50-point second half to rout UMBC in the semifinals.
>> Corpus Christi is the first Southland school to ever reach the finals of a postseason tournament.

 

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Saint Peter's battles in Texas tonight for CIT championship


A magical postseason run for the Saint Peter's University men's basketball team will reach its conclusion tomorrow night, one way or another, when the Peacocks look to make program history with their first national postseason tournament title of any kind.

Saint Peter's will take on Texas A&M University Corpus Christi in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) championship on the Islanders' home court.

The Peacocks advanced to the title game with an easy 77-51 victory over Furman University in the semifinals Wednesday night at the Yanitelli Center, the first time the school has ever hosted a national tournament postseason game.

Senior forward Quadir Welton notched a double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds, while sophomore guard Antwon Portley and senior guard Chazz Patterson, the MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, each scored 13, a season-high for Patterson. Senior guard Trevis Wyche, a former standout at St. Peter's Prep, did a little bit of everything with eight points, nine assists and four steals.

The Peacocks advanced to the semifinals after erasing a 17-point deficit, their largest comeback of the season, to defeat Texas State University, 49-44, in the quarterfinals. In the first round, Saint Peter's trailed by almost 10 points late to the University of Albany, but again found a way to win with a 59-55 victory.

The three CIT wins are the most ever for the program in a national postseason tournament, clinching the team's first-ever berth in a championship game.

Texas A&M Corpus Christi (24-11) are in the midst of their own historic postseason run. After finishing second in the Southland Conference, the Islanders have won four CIT games, the most for any team ever in their conference in a single tournament.

Senior forward Rashawn Thomas crossed the 2,000-point plateau for his career in the semifinals, the first in team history. He also leads the team with 22.6 points per game. Junior guard Ehab Amin is a defensive force with 3.4 steals per game, the most in the nation.

Saint Peter's (22-13) has won its most games since the 1990-91 season, and the 22 wins tie the 1979-80, 1982-83 and 1988-89 teams for the third most in a single season. Tomorrow's game will be the Peacocks' 36th of the season, a new program record for a single season.

The Peacocks are just the second team in the 36-year history of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to advance to a championship game. The other is a 2014 Iona squad that took home the College Basketball Invitational crown.

Saint Peter's (21-13) is coming into this contest hot, winning nine of its last 10 games -- the lone blemish being a loss to Iona in the conference semifinals. The 21 wins are a program-high under head coach John Dunne and just the 12th season in program history with over 20 victories.