Issue date: 11/6/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jonny Green Derrick Roland and Josh Carter led Texas A&M to a 72-59 exhibition victory over the Texas A&M-Kinsville Javelinas on Wednesday at Reed Arena. Roland and Carter scored 14 points each. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Jonny Green Forward Bryan Davis passes the ball around an A&M-Kingsville defender to center Chinemelu Elonu Wednesday at Reed Arena. The Aggies exhibition game against the Javelinas marks the first game of the season. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Philip Crowson Freshman forward David Loubeau shoots over A&M-Kingsville forward Schyler King during Wednesday's exhibition game at Reed Arena. The Aggies beat the Javelinas 72-59. [Click to enlarge]

After losing key players from the 2007-2008 squad, the Texas A&M men's basketball team began the 2008-2009 season with a bang Wednesday. In an exhibition match at Reed Arena, the Aggies defeated the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, 72-59.

Former players Joseph Jones and Dominique Kirk were missed by the Aggies Wednesday. A&M's win featured numerous defensive miscues and only nine players seeing significant playing time in a game A&M thought would allow them to try letting more players see the court.

"I thought that we had a great crowd. We had a lot of students out there, which was great for us," said A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "We were a little nervous at the start, but it felt good to get out there and play, especially in a game that doesn't count and get the bugs out a little bit."

For much of the first half, the Aggies were unable to put any significant distance between themselves and the Javelinas. At the 10 minute mark, the Aggies were up 18-15. A&M managed to get a little breathing room in the last few minutes of the half and were poised to build on the lead until junior forward Bryan Davis turned the ball over with four seconds left, allowing Kingsville senior guard Wendell Mulkey to score.

After a few defensive adjustments and increased aggression on the offensive end, the Aggies began the second half with a 12-2 run through the first six minutes. The Javelinas clawed back into the game and kept it close until A&M went on a 6-0 run with five minutes remaining and closed out the game on a 10-3 run.

"I thought A&M-Kingsville played great. This may be one of their best performances of the year," Turgeon said. "They shot really well and we put no time into our scouting report on them. They did some things that we weren't anticipating them to do defensively. Offensively, that Princeton [style offense] is hard to guard."

"They were a good team," said sophomore forward Nathan Walkup. "Everybody in college basketball can play. We didn't have much of a scouting report on them. We all know that they could play and they went out there and they got after it."
Junior guard Derrick Roland and senior forward Josh Carter led the Aggies in scoring with 14 points each. Junior guard Donald Sloan chipped in 11 points and five assists. Walkup scored nine points and nine rebounds.

For the Javelinas, freshman forward Robert Williams scored 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Junior forward Flavio Milam helped Kingsville's cause with 12 points while senior forward Schyler King scored 11 points. Mulkey added eight points and seven assists for the Javelinas.

The Aggies will return to the court Nov. 16 to begin their regular season against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Reed Arena.

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