Texas A&M
George Washington
Aggies Drop Season Opener at George Washington
Nov 18, 2000 | Men's Basketball
November 18, 2000
George Washington broke open a close game with a late first-half flurry and never looked back, cruising to a 94-74 victory Saturday against Texas A&M in the season-opener for both teams at the Smith Center.
The Aggies (0-1) were slowed early when starters Keith Bean and Nick Anderson, each playing in their first game at A&M, picked up two fouls apiece in the opening three minutes didn?™t play the rest of the first half. The teams traded the lead for the first 17 minutes and A&M trailed, 39-37, after a three-point play by Carlton Brown with 3:55 left in the first half. But the Colonials (1-0) closed the half with a 16-5 run to take a 55-42 halftime lead.
"It all started the last few minutes of the first half," A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. "We kind of lost our composure and when we did, we lost our execution. I was especially disappointed in our defense. We became very soft, didn?™t rebound the basketball and just played very timid."
The Aggies trimmed the lead to 58-48 just one minute into the second half, but never came closer than 11 points the rest of the game. The Colonials led, 72-54, with 11:28 left before a three-pointer by Bernard King spurred a small run that pulled the Aggies within 76-63 with 8:44 remaining. But five unanswered points by George Washington?™s Mike King silenced A&M?™s attempt at a comeback as the Colonials built a 23-point lead in the final two minutes.
The Aggies made a blazing 54.0 percent from the field and limited the Colonials to just 42.9 percent shooting, but the Aggies committed a whopping 31 fouls and had 20 turnovers. George Washington made 31-of-46 from the free throw line, while A&M made 15 free throws in only 21 attempts. In addition, the Colonels, coached by former University of Texas coach Tom Penders, hauled in 15 offensive rebounds to only six by the Aggies.
"We probably let the officials affect us too much," Watkins added. "We?™ve got to play through that and tonight we let it get to us."
Brown led the Aggies with 15 points, while Bernard King scored 14 and Jamaal Gilchrist, playing in his hometown of Washington, D.C., added 12 points. Mike King led George Washington with 24 points, while Chris Monroe finished with 21, including 19 in the first half, in front of a crowd of 4,289.
The Colonials?™ Sirvaliant Brown, who ranked second nationally in scoring last year as a freshman with a 24.6 average, was held to just 11 points.
The Aggies open their home schedule on Monday against North Texas. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
