TSU advanced from the First Four round for the second straight season behind another tough defensive performance and clutch free throw shooting as they defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 76-67 Tuesday night in Dayton.

Despite both teams located four hours from each other, Tuesday's game marked the first meeting between both teams in 15 years. With March Madness back to its pre-COVID setup and a sold-out crowd in attendance, nerves got the best of both teams early on as the Tigers committed two turnovers within the first 38 seconds. The Islanders scored the game's first basket but John Jones answered with TSU's first basket at the 18:50 mark. Both teams traded three-pointers but the turnover bug struck again as two Tiger turnovers led to a 6-0 run and an 11-5 deficit at the first media timeout. Head coach Johnny Jones made a pair of subs following the timeout but TSU missed its next two shots as the deficit increased to 13-5 after an Islander dunk with 14:16 left.

Bryson Etienne, who missed last season due to an injury, made his March Madness debut in style as he hit a jumper which sent a calm feeling across the TSU roster from that point. The Islanders missed their next shot and Etienne drained three free throws after being fouled to draw the Tigers within 13-10. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi would remain on top over the next few minutes but Yahuza Rasas came in and provided valuable minutes with a pair of buckets to keep TSU within striking distance at 17-14.

The Islanders once again pushed their lead back to five (21-16) with 9:49 remaining but TSU would begin to establish an identity defensively as Karl Nicholas and Brison Gresham reentered the lineup.

Nicholas drove in the lane for a big basket and TSU's length began to cause problems for the Islanders in the paint. Gresham's putback closed the gap to 21-20 and an Islander missed basket led to an Etienne three-pointer and a 23-21 lead. TSU upped the margin to 25-21 a minute later but the Islanders took advantage of four missed TSU buckets and regained a 28-27 lead prior to the final media timeout.

John Walker III took matters into his own hands with a three-point jumper to put TSU back ahead 30-28 and a missed basket by the Islanders led to a pair of PJ Henry free throws and a 32-28 lead. A late TSU foul led to a pair of Islander free throws as the half would end with TSU ahead 32-30.

TSU opened the second half with a 5-1 run surge and went ahead 37-31 but the first few minutes provided fans of what was to come in this nip-and-tuck affair. The lead dwindled down to 37-36 but defense was TSU's best offense once again as an Islander miss basket led to A.J. Lawson's layup and a 40-36 margin.

The Tigers were on the verge of breaking the game open on several occasions it seemed as they went ahead by six three times over the next five minutes. However, the Islanders swung the momentum back thanks to the three-point ball as they went on a 14-4 run fueled by three treys to find themselves up 57-53 after Trevian Tennyson's layup with 7:51 left.

No strangers to adversity, the Tigers would roll up their sleeves and claw back by driving to the lane as Etienne's layup, a Gresham putback and two Walker III free throws knotted the game at 57-all as the clock read 6:12.

It was nip-and-tuck once again as TSU was down 61-59 before three PJ Henry free throws swung the needle back to TSU for a 62-61 lead. Both teams went scoreless until Gresham's fifth block led to Lawson's layup for a 64-61 decision. TSU began to establish themselves on both ends as they held the Islanders without a field goal for nearly six minutes. Offensively, the Tigers took advantage of the free throw line as they went 12-of-14 down the stretch to seal the win.

Etienne, Walker III and Henry came off the bench to lead TSU with 21, 16 and 14 points, respectively. Gresham grabbed 13 rebounds with six blocks on six points.

TSU heads back to Texas and will face top-seeded Kansas on Thursday night inside Dickies Arena at 8:57 p.m.