November 16, 1997
The Texas A&M men's basketball team plays Buducnost, Yugoslavia Monday at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum in the Aggies' final exhibition game. A&M opens the regular season on Saturday against Stephen F. Austin at 2:30 p.m. at GRW.
Buducnost, from the city of Podgorica, is the No. 1-ranked club team in the state of Montenegro. Last year, the team advanced to the national semifinals. On its American tour, Buducnost has built an 0-7 record, including a 94-40 loss to Missouri on Friday in Columbia, Mo.
Buducnost's other games, all losses, have been against Tulsa (86-59), Southwest Missouri State (84-46), Iowa State (85-70), Denver (80-79), Colorado (88-60) and Air Force (92-53).
The team's leading scorer and rebounder is 6-6 forward Ranko Stevovic, who is averaging 17.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Stevovic is also a dangerous three-point shooter, averaging 3.0 treys per game while making 38.2 percent. Against Missouri, he scored 16 points with 11 rebounds and made 4-of-8 three-pointers. Against Iowa State, Stevovic scored 23 points.
The Aggies defeated North Melbourne, 99-87, in their first exhibition game on Thursday. Sophomore guard/forward Jerald Brown led A&M with 22 points, 11 rebounds, 7 steals and 5 assists, while junior forward Calvin Davis added 20 points and 9 rebounds and junior forward Shanne Jones scored 17 points with 9 boards.
Tickets are $9 for westside armchair seats, $7 for north end bench seats and $4 for A&M students without an all-sports pass and students high school age and under.