August 17, 1998
The Ricoh Astronauts broke open a close game late in the first half and went on to whip Texas A&M, 75-50, on Monday. The Aggies fall to 0-2 on their European tour, which continues on Thursday in Leverkusen, Germany.
The Aggies pulled within 21-20 on a short jumper by senior Shanne Jones with 6:38 left in the first half, but the Astronauts closed the half with a 15-4 run to take a 36-24 halftime lead.
The Astronauts continued their domination early in the second half with a 10-0 scoring run for a 46-24 lead with 17:37 left in the game. The Astronauts led by as many as 27 points in the final minute.
"Obviously, the score indicates that they are too good for us at the stage we're at right now," A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. "And the road will only get tougher for us. After the game, we encouraged the guys and said, yeah, we've got a lot of work to do, but it is all things we can correct."
Senior Chris Clayton led the Aggies with 13 points and made 3-of-4 three-pointers. In two games, Clayton has averaged 17.5 points and connected on 9-of-14 (64.3 percent) from three-point range. Jones added 12 points but fouled out with 8:39 left to play. Jones is averaging 20.5 points on the tour. Sophomore Aaron Jack scored nine points and posted a team-high eight rebounds.
The Astronauts' Milko Lieverst led all scorers with 24 points, while teammate Shawn Gray, an American, added 15 points.
"Our guys have the right attitude and we will get better," Watkins said. "I'm not down on the players at all. Our kids gave a decent effort. The officials were not as good as in the first game (Sunday). We got in foul trouble and that dictated how we could play."
In addition to Jones, Jack and junior Jerald Brown also fouled out late in the game, leaving the Aggies with four players in the final two minutes. For the game, the Aggies made just 38.3 percent from the field, including just 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from three-point range. The Aggies connected on 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from the free throw line.
After two days of sightseeing in Amsterdam, the Aggies will return to action against Bayer-Leverkusen on Thursday at 8 p.m. (1 p.m. CDT) in Leverkusen, Germany.
TEXAS A&M (50)
Clayton 5-10 0-0 13, Schmidt 2-10 1-2 5, Jack 3-4 3-5 9,
Jones 4-10 4-8 12, T. Brown 2-5 2-2 6, Richards 1-3 0-0 2,
J. Brown 1-5 0-0 3. Team Totals 18-47 10-17 50.
RICOH ASTRONAUTS (75)
(Scoring only) Franke 10, Heinen 2, Spinks 6, Lieverst 24,
McGuthrie 12, Greer 0, Gray 15, ten Dam 6, Benjamin 0.
Team Totals (18-21 FT) 75.
Halftime score- Ricoh 36, A&M 24. Three-point baskets- A&M
4-12 (Clayton 3-4, J. Brown 1-2, T. Brown 0-3, Schmidt 0-3).
Fouled out- Jack, Jones, J. Brown, ten Dam. Rebounds- A&M 21
(Jack 8). Assists- A&M 9 (Clayton 3). Turnovers- A&M 17 (J.
Brown 7). Blocks- A&M 2 (Schmidt, Jack). Steals- A&M 7 (Richards
2, J. Brown 2).