Sugar Bears Travel to Corpus Christi Seeking Road Swing Split

Courtesy UCA Athletics Department

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — After being dealt their first Southland Conference loss of the season at Sam Houston State on Thursday, the Sugar Bears will look to bounce back on Saturday when they face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Noon. 

With their loss to the Bearkats, the Sugar Bears (11-5, 4-1 Southland) slipped into a four-way tie for first place with Sam Houston State, Lamar and Oral Roberts. The Islanders (1-15, 0-5 Southland) are one of two teams yet to win in league play, alongside Southeastern Louisiana.

Saturday’s game will feature a pair of head coaches, both in their first season with their respective schools, who have combined for nearly 1,000 wins over the course of their careers. Central Arkansas head coach Sandra Rushing is 414-260 (.614) in her 24th season as a collegiate head coach, while A&M-Corpus Christi’s Royce Chadwick is 562-317 (.639). 

Chadwick is in his first year with the Islanders after going 161-169 in an 11-year stint at Marshall University, where he was replaced by former Sugar Bear head coach Matt Daniel in May.

Though in his first season in Corpus Christi, Chadwick has prior Southland experience with Stephen F. Austin from 1994-2001. During his seven seasons with the Ladyjacks, he compiled a 173-44 record and took SFA to seven straight NCAA Tournaments – advancing beyond the first round three times and making the Sweet 16 in 1997. 

His first Islander team has struggled, averaging just 46.1 points per game with an average scoring margin of -18 and shooting just 31 percent from the field for the season. Their lone win came at home on Dec. 18 in a 52-49 win over Cornell, and they are 1-6 at home this season.

The Sugar Bears trail the series with the Islanders 2-4 and are 1-2 in Corpus Christi, winning 85-66 in their last trip to the American Bank Center in 2011. The Islanders won the first two meetings 73-71 in 2007 and 86-65 in 2010.