Texas A&M
Detroit
A&M Captures Fifth Place in Rainbow Classic With Overtime Win Over Titans
Dec 30, 2000 | Men's Basketball
December 30, 2000
Texas A&M rallied from a 15-point deficit to defeat Detroit Mercy, 81-72, in overtime on Saturday to capture fifth place in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.
With their second straight win, the Aggies improve to 5-6 while the Titans fall to 9-5.
Behind the torrid three-point shooting of guards Rashad Phillips and Willie Green, Detroit bolted to a 35-20 lead with 2:46 left in the first half. At that point, Phillips, a senior All-American, had dropped in four three-pointers, Green had made three and as a team, Detroit had connected on nine. But A&M buckled down on defense, shutting out the Titans the rest of the half and closing with six unanswered points to trim the lead to 35-26 at halftime.
The run continued in the second half as the Aggies opened with 11 straight points to take a 37-35 lead on a long jumper by Nick Anderson. Detroit led, 59-54, with 4:45 left, but an 8-2 run handed the Aggies a 62-61 lead at the 2:49 mark. The Titans regained the lead on a short jumper by Green, but A&M?™s Keith Bean answered with a layup on a nice bounce pass from Bernard King for a 64-63 lead and A&M never trailed again.
A pair of free throws by King gave the Aggies a 66-63 cushion with 18 seconds left, then Green calmly nailed a 21-foot three-pointer in the waning seconds to send the game into overtime.
King stole the ball from Phillips on Detroit?™s opening possession in overtime and went the length of the court for an easy layup, then followed with a three-pointer to hand the Aggies a 71- 66 lead with 3:26 left. From there, the Aggies made 10 straight free throws in the final 1:10 to ice the game. In Thursday?™s 72-64 win against Manhattan, the Aggies made eight straight free throws in the final minute.
"I think we?™ve grown together as a team on this trip," A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. "I was pleased with our intensity on both ends of the court. We played very well defensively and made some big plays on offense."
Detroit made 9 of its first 13 three-point attempts, but connected on only 4-of-21 the rest of the game. Phillips made his first four treys, but dropped only one of his last eight attempts.
"We really picked up our defensive pressure and that bothered them," Watkins said. "Bernard did an exceptional job on Phillips. This was a quality win for our program against a quality opponent. Detroit is an outstanding team with a good chance to make the NCAAs."
King led the Aggies with 27 points, nine in overtime, and added seven assists while making 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Carlton Brown scored 24 points with 13 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the year, while Anderson scored 10 points with 12 rebounds, his second straight double-double. Keith Bean added 10 points and nine rebounds for A&M.
Phillips finished with 26 points for Detroit while Green added 19. As a team, the Titans made 13-of-34 three-point attempts, five each by Phillips and Green.
The Aggies dominated the boards for the second straight game, posting a 49-27 edge, including 18 offensive rebounds. On Thursday against Manhattan, A&M posted a 21-rebound margin. The Aggies connected on 45.0 percent from the field to 40.3 percent by Detroit and made 22-of-30 free throws.
"In the past after a game, we?™re usually talking about one or two players having a good game but tonight we have five or six and that?™s a good sign," Watkins said. "That?™s what we?™ve got to do to be a good team. We did a good job of rebounding and I was proud of how we hung in there and battled after falling behind early."
The Aggies return home to play Centenary on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena before opening Big 12 Conference play at home on Saturday against Kansas State (3 p.m.).
