Texas A&M
TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE
Second-Half Run Paces A&M to 91-70 Win over Javelinas
Nov 26, 2001 | Men's Basketball
November 26, 2001
Keith Bean scored 14 points in a four-minute span in the second half, sparking the Texas A&M men's basketball team to a 91-70 victory over the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas Monday before 3,395 fans at Reed Arena.
A&M (3-0) held a six-point lead with just over 11 minutes to play in the game before Bean proceeded to score 14 of his team's points on a 16-6 run that gave the Aggies a 68-50 advantage with 7:56 left on the clock.
Twelve Aggies scored for the second time in three games. Prior to this season, A&M hadn't had that many players score in a game in 12 years. The Aggies' 60 second-half points were the largest output in a half by a maroon-and-white squad since the 1989-90 season.
The Aggies, plagued by 12 first-half turnovers, trailed by as many as five late in the frame before going into the locker room down two at 33-31.
Bean led all scorers with a career-high 20 points and grabbed five rebounds.
Bernard King tallied 17 points for Texas A&M, and his 1-of-5 performance from behind the 3-point arc left him just two shy of the school record for treys made in a career. Nick Anderson added 10 points and eight rebounds.
Darren Herrington led all Javelina scorers with 19 and Kendall Garland added 12, as Texas A&M-Kingsville dropped to 1-1 on the year.
A&M continues its five-game homestand on Friday when they host the Long Beach State 49ers at Reed Arena. Tipoff has been pushed back an hour to 8 p.m. (CST) to accomodate those fans interested in attending the Aggie volleyball team's NCAA first-round match with UT-Arlington at G. Rollie White Coliseum, which begins at 7 p.m.
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Postgame Quotes
FORWARD KEITH BEAN
"I felt great. I tried to score every time or kick it out when they double-teamed me. I felt like Bernard (King) a little bit. I appreciated them throwing the ball in to me. I tried to go right at them at the post and make the shot or get the foul. Either one was good. (On Watkins' halftime speech): "He said we were better than that and that we were giving the fans the wrong example."
GUARD BERNARD KING
(On Watkins' halftime speech): "He came in and said it was time to play. He got on us. The intensity was high in the second half. We just really played."
HEAD COACH MELVIN WATKINS
"It was like two different teams, one in the first half and the other in the second. For the second half, we just had to correct some things. It was kind of a lifeless first half. We didn't press because I wanted to see some things. We took a look at the first half and the mistakes we made. Most of the problem was attitude. We thought it was going to be an easy game. We can't think like that because we aren't there yet. We just talked at the half and corrected it. (On Being 3-0): "We have to take one game at a time. I'd rather be teaching from the point of winning than of losing. It's going to get tougher and tougher. We were able to come out and make adjustments. The first half, they out-hustled us and if we play like that we won't win. (On team having fun in second half): "That's the way it's got to be. We aren't there yet and we've got a lot of tough teams left to play, but if we give it our best shot and have fun, we'll have a chance to win. (On playing so many players): "It's good having depth to challenge. They don't like to sit on the bench. They want to play and get minutes. But we have to play to win, no more playing just to play, and that's something new".
Postgame Notes
The Aggies scored 60 points in the second half against A&M-Kingsville on Monday, tying for the ninth most in a half in school history. It was the most points in a half since the Long Island game in 1989-90 (a 99-96 win).
In two of three games this season, 12 A&M players have scored (GW and Kingsville). Prior to this season, the last time A&M had 12 players score in a game was against Florida International in 1989-90 (a 114-90 win). Nine players scored in the Lamar game on Saturday.
The Aggies are 3-0 for the first time since 1998-99, Melvin Watkins' first season at A&M. A win against Long Beach State on Friday would make the Aggies 4-0 for the first time since 1997-98. If the Aggies beat Long Beach on Friday and Loyola Marymount on Sunday, they would be 5-0 for the first time since 1980-81, when they started 7-0.
Keith bean scored a career-high 20 points (17 in the second half) on 8-of-8 shooting against A&M-Kingsville on Monday.
Bernard King has scored in double figures in 23 straight regular-season games. King leads the Big 12 with a 23.0 scoring average this season and ranks in the league's top 10 in scoring, FG percentage, free throw percentage, assists, steals, 3-point percentage and 3-point field goals.
In the first three games, the A&M bench has produced 35, 34 and 34 points, an average of 34.3 per game. The last time A&M had more bench points in a game than any of those three was two seasons ago in an 88-86 win at Texas Tech. Last year, A&M averaged 19.1 bench points per game.
