Spring Break
Men's basketball upsets Mizzou, improves bid
By: David Arno
Issue date: 3/9/09 Section: Sports
The Texas A&M men's basketball team improved its NCAA tournament bid resume with an upset win against No. 12 Missouri Saturday.
In front of a sold-out crowd of 13,007 fans, the Aggies survived a late run by the Tigers to win 96-86.
"Who knows the things that are going through people's minds, but I'm confident enough to say, 'Yeah we got it,'" said junior guard Donald Sloan.
The Aggies (23-8, 9-7) finished the season on a 6-0 run after losing Feb. 14 at Baylor. A&M started conference play 3-7 before the six-game win streak.
"A lot of teams would have folded, but we didn't," said A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "Our poise has gotten better during that stretch and our fight has been unbelievable. We've just had great fight and determination in us."
Missouri (25-6, 12-4) entered Saturday's game coming off a 73-64 upset of No. 4 Oklahoma and were looking to claim a share of the Big 12 title for the first time in the program's history.
A&M controlled the game in the first half, with the Aggies building an early lead behind the sharp shooting of sophomores B.J. Holmes, guard, and Nathan Walkup, forward. The pair combined for five 3-pointers in the game.
The A&M defense stepped up, getting five steals and forcing nine turnovers during the half. The Tiger's leading scorer, senior DeMarre Carroll, was held to two points for the half. The Aggies went into halftime with a 51-29 lead.
A&M came out of the locker room and kept on the attack, building on its lead. A jump shot and free throw by freshman forward David Loubeau put the Aggies up an additional 3 points for a 26 point lead with 16 minutes remaining in the game. Then the Tigers began chipping away at the A&M lead.
After being shut down in the first half, Carroll led a charge that cut the A&M lead to six points with 38 seconds remaining in the game. After shooting 33 percent on 3-point shots in the first half, the Tigers were good on 64 percent of their 3-pointers during the second half.
After combining for three points in the first half, sophomore Justin Safford and senior Matt Lawrence scored 25 points and shot 7-for-9 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Sloan led the Aggies in scoring with 16 points. Senior guard Josh Carter and Holmes both added 13 points, and Walkup scored 12 points. Junior forward Chinemelu Elonu had 12 points and pulled down ten rebounds.
Carroll led the Tigers with 18 points. Junior Zaire Taylor added 17 points, Safford finished with 15, and Lawrence scored 13 points. Senior Leo Lyons scored 11 points.
A&M will return to play on Wednesday in the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City. The Aggies are the No. 6 seed in the tournament and will play No. 11 seeded Texas Tech.
Women
The Texas A&M women's basketball team lost to Baylor for the second consecutive time Saturday. Despite tying the Lady Bears late in the game, the Aggies fell 64-60 in Waco. Read the full story online at thebatt.com.
In front of a sold-out crowd of 13,007 fans, the Aggies survived a late run by the Tigers to win 96-86.
"Who knows the things that are going through people's minds, but I'm confident enough to say, 'Yeah we got it,'" said junior guard Donald Sloan.
The Aggies (23-8, 9-7) finished the season on a 6-0 run after losing Feb. 14 at Baylor. A&M started conference play 3-7 before the six-game win streak.
"A lot of teams would have folded, but we didn't," said A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "Our poise has gotten better during that stretch and our fight has been unbelievable. We've just had great fight and determination in us."
Missouri (25-6, 12-4) entered Saturday's game coming off a 73-64 upset of No. 4 Oklahoma and were looking to claim a share of the Big 12 title for the first time in the program's history.
A&M controlled the game in the first half, with the Aggies building an early lead behind the sharp shooting of sophomores B.J. Holmes, guard, and Nathan Walkup, forward. The pair combined for five 3-pointers in the game.
The A&M defense stepped up, getting five steals and forcing nine turnovers during the half. The Tiger's leading scorer, senior DeMarre Carroll, was held to two points for the half. The Aggies went into halftime with a 51-29 lead.
A&M came out of the locker room and kept on the attack, building on its lead. A jump shot and free throw by freshman forward David Loubeau put the Aggies up an additional 3 points for a 26 point lead with 16 minutes remaining in the game. Then the Tigers began chipping away at the A&M lead.
After being shut down in the first half, Carroll led a charge that cut the A&M lead to six points with 38 seconds remaining in the game. After shooting 33 percent on 3-point shots in the first half, the Tigers were good on 64 percent of their 3-pointers during the second half.
After combining for three points in the first half, sophomore Justin Safford and senior Matt Lawrence scored 25 points and shot 7-for-9 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Sloan led the Aggies in scoring with 16 points. Senior guard Josh Carter and Holmes both added 13 points, and Walkup scored 12 points. Junior forward Chinemelu Elonu had 12 points and pulled down ten rebounds.
Carroll led the Tigers with 18 points. Junior Zaire Taylor added 17 points, Safford finished with 15, and Lawrence scored 13 points. Senior Leo Lyons scored 11 points.
A&M will return to play on Wednesday in the Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City. The Aggies are the No. 6 seed in the tournament and will play No. 11 seeded Texas Tech.
Women
The Texas A&M women's basketball team lost to Baylor for the second consecutive time Saturday. Despite tying the Lady Bears late in the game, the Aggies fell 64-60 in Waco. Read the full story online at thebatt.com.
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