CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas -- Kareem South scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat Central Arkansas 87-75 in a Southland Conference opener on Wednesday night.

South was 7 of 15 from the field and made all six of his free throws for the Islanders (6-8). Emmanuel Toney added 13 points and six assists, Jashawn Talton had 12 points and eight rebounds and Elijah Schmidt had 11 points and led the Islanders with 13 rebounds.

The Islanders outscored Central Arkansas 36-20 in the paint, 15-0 in second chance points, and had a 43-29 rebounding edge.

The Islanders jumped to a 15-7 start and never looked back, taking a 40-24 lead on a South 3-pointer with 2:09 to go and holding on for a 42-34 advantage at the break.

Central Arkansas battled back to tie the score 63-all with 8:19 to play but slumped after that while the Islanders went on an 8-0 run to build a 71-63 lead with 4:51 left.

DeAndre Jones scored 22 points with five rebounds and five assists for the Bears (5-9).