February 12, 2000
Colorado Head Coach Ricardo Patton -
(on Bernard King's performance) "He had a really good game. Freshman tend to ride a roller coaster, and today we caught him on the up part of that roller coaster. Not just King, they have a really good core of players who will be good once they mature. Their freshmen played like men not freshmen. They did a good job on the boards and made free throws. (On second half run) Their half court trap hurt us, and we did not convert. We just turned the ball over way too much. They played good defense. (Jamaal) Gilchrist did a good job on Jaquay Walls. A few calls down the stretch hurt us. It is hard to win on the road just shooting 52% from the free throw line."
Colorado Forward Jamahl Mosley-
"We came out too relaxed. We weren't surprised by them, we knew what they were capable of. We didn't attack the trap like we should have. We were standing around watching and not being aggressive enough."
Colorado Guard Jose Winston-
(on Bernard King's performance) "He got some open looks at the basket and he knocked down the big shots. He played a great game, but we didn't play very good defense tonight. We can't make any excuses. They played a great game and you have to take your hat off to them."
Texas A&M Head Coach Melvin Watkins -
(on Bernard King's performance) "He showed a lot of maturity. Some of the players in practice this week told him that he has got to bring his game. He did that today. We were kind of stagnant on offense in the first half, but I was pleased with our defensive effort. Jamaal (Gilchrist) did a good job guarding Walls. He was playing tired and with (Tomas) Ress out he had to play a lot more minutes. I was very pleased with his effort. He made a few mental mistakes, but I think that was due to fatigue. He did a good job carrying us down the stretch. (On Jerald Brown) He is definitely our spiritual leader. We had missed what he brings to the table. Most of that does not show up on the stat sheet."
Texas A&M Guard Bernard King -
"I just wanted the ball. I have been struggling the past few games. Tonight, I wanted to get back on track. I practiced hard this week. When I got my fourth foul, I was kind of guarding against it (fouling out). I told myself I was not going to miss any free throws."
Texas A&M Guard Jamaal Gilchrist -
(On Walls) "He is a good player. I had a gut check. He scored a lot of points in the first half. When King got in foul trouble, I knew that I had to step up and play good defense. (On King) He is going to be a great player. He just has to keep working hard. The sky is the limit for him."
Texas A&M Notes
Bernard King's career-high 34 points set a Big 12 freshman scoring record. The previous record was 32 by Texas' Luke Axtell (now with Kansas) against Liberty in 1997-98. King also broke the A&M freshman scoring mark of 33 set by the late Vernon Smith in 1977-78 against SW Louisiana. Smith was honored posthumously along with A&M's 1979-80 team during halftime ceremonies today.
King was 4-of-7 on three-pointers, giving him an A&M freshman record of 56 for the season. The former A&M freshman record was 54 by Jerald Brown in 1996-97, when Brown earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors. Only two Big 12 freshmen have made more in a season ?" Kansas' Jeff Boschee made 79 last season and Texas' Luke Axtell (now with Kansas) made 68 in 1997-98.
Jamaal Gilchrist tied his career highs for assists (7) and rebounds (8) and scored 15 points, his best since he scored 16 against Virginia Commonwealth on Dec. 5.
The victory was A&M first ever against Colorado, who leads the series 4-1. The series is now tied in College Station at 1-1.
A&M led 33-32 at halftime, only the fourth time this season the Aggies have led at the half. A&M is 4-1 when it leads or is tied at halftime this season.
A&M has been involved in 12 games decided by seven or fewer points this season, most in the Big 12. The Aggies are 6-6 in those games.
A&M had 15 turnovers. The Aggies are 5-3 when they commit 15 or fewer turnovers in a game and are 4?"1 when they have 14 or fewer miscues.
The Aggies trailed by 10 points against the Buffaloes but rallied for the victory. The Aggies have rallied from double-digit deficits to win four times this season. The Aggies came back from an eight-point deficit to beat Oklahoma State on Jan. 22.