Texas A&M
NORTH TEXAS
Aggies Win Home Opener Over North Texas, 77-74
Nov 20, 2000 | Men's Basketball
November 20, 2000
North Texas' Chris Davis missed a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining, and Texas A&M held on for a 77-74 victory Monday night before 5,969 fans at Reed Arena.
Texas A&M (1-1) could have sealed the game with 17 seconds left, but Jamaal Gilchrist made only one of his two free throws for a 77-74 lead. That left the Eagles a chance at the game-winning basket.
Bernard King led the Aggies with 17 points. Carlton Brown had 14 points, Gilchrist had 12 and Nick Anderson added 11.
Davis lead the Eagles (0-2) in scoring with 23 points, followed by Bryan Lucas with 18 and Jason Miller with 10.
The Aggies led by as many as 11 points early in the second half, but North Texas (0-2) kept whittling it down. The Eagles had a one-point edge at 62-61 with 5:57 to play.
Texas A&M led by as many as nine points in the first half before taking a 42-38 lead at the break.
Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
Jamaal Gilchrist (on A&M's free throws) "There's no excuses. We just missed. That was just this game, it won't carry over." (On rebounding) "We were not that good on the glass. There's things we need to work on in rebounding. We just got outhustled." (On closeness of the game) "Maybe in the long run this will help us. That should not have been a close game. Lots of mental mistakes caused it to be close."
Bernard King: "We made the game more difficult. We'd make a run and they would make a run back. A big part of my free throws was the injury. It ached when I shot."
Melvin Watkins: "I was searching for a while. I have to give North Texas credit. They came out more aggressive in the second half. Throughout the game, we had some good defensive possessions. We have to get Bean playing better. I always look back at practice and they are not where they need to be. We don't have the bodies so the intensity is not there. I was frustrated because of turnovers, unforced errors and mental mistakes. After that, we were getting hurt. We got a win and we'll go back to the drawing board." (On the stricter officiating) "We're still trying to figure that out. Players are asking me what do we do. I agree with some calls, but I'm still trying to figure out others. This will cause more teams to play zone. We're still going to be a man-to-man team, but we'll add some zones in." (On free throw shooting) "That was a factor. It's something we need to work on." (On Chris Davis) "He's a good offensive player. He's a player that can beat you. I was more disappointed with how he beat us with his rebounding."
North Texas Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Vic Trulli: "First both teams and both staffs did a great job of getting kids ready to play. Both teams were very composed, very competitive. It was a tough game with a bounce here and a bounce there, it goes either way. Our teams are a lot alike. My team is hanging together, buying into the philosophy of rebounding, taking charges and diving for balls." (On the stricter officiating) "I'll be honest, the changes being made are for the physical nature period. I like the finesse part of the game and, to an extent, the physical part has overtaken the skill part of the game. It cost both teams, we have to learn to adjust to it. We need to get back to basketball." (On playing in Reed Arena) "This is a great place to play. They have a great band, great fans and a nice arena." (On Chris Davis) "We're taxing Davis, asking him to do so much. He's fun to coach and can play for any team that we've played so far."
