December 01, 1997
Texas A&M Head Coach Tony Barone Quotes:
"I thought this was a key game for us. We did not do a good job on the press and I want to really, really commend Southern on the way that they handled it (press). They got the ball inbounds after a made shot faster than any school I've ever seen. But, in the second half we made some adjustments and from the 15 minute mark on they did not make a transition basket.
I can't say enough on how impressed I was with their coaching staff and how hard their kids played."
"This was a great character builder for our team. I'm thrilled to be 4-0. I'm pleased with the way that we found a way to win. We didn't shoot the ball well but our guards penetrated and created some open shots for our guys down low. Brian (Barone) played great off the bench and I thought Shanne showed great leadership tonight. We still had problems keeping Calvin (Davis) in the game. He picked up two over-the-back fouls and had to come out. But, he scored 18 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and made them alter their shots down low and that was all in 23 minutes. We have to keep him in the game if we are going to be successful."
(On Alabama): "Jones and Williams are the two best guards we will face all season. They've lost a couple of close games where it came down to the last shot. We have to keep them off the boards. They are very aggressive and they fly to the boards."
Aggie Forward Shanne Jones:
"Coach Barone told us at half-time that if we didn't come out with better intensity that we'd get beat. We were not overlooking them by no means. They were a lot better than I thought. This game gave us a chance to fight back and come back from behind."
Aggie Guard Jerald Brown:
"In the second-half we stepped up on the boards and fought back. Last year's team probably would have lost this game. It just shows you the maturity of this team. This is the first game that we faced adversity and I think we stepped up and responded with character."
Southern Head Coach, Tommy Green.
(On how Southern jumped out to a big lead): "We played like we practiced. We attacked their pressure every time and we did not turn the ball over very often. We executed our plan for thirty-four minutes. We thought that their getting a bunch of second shots was a strong part of their game. We knew we had to rebound to win, and we did just that for thirty-four minutes."
(On losing the lead): "We started taking ill-advised shots late in the second half. We started playing the clock and not Texas A&M. There is a time when you need to play the clock, but we started a little early."