November 28, 2003
The Texas A&M men's basketball team ends a three-game season-opening homestand on Saturday when the Aggies play the Prairie View A&M Panthers at 3 p.m. at Reed Arena.
The Aggies (2-0) beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 82-53, in their season opener on Monday and followed with a 100-65 victory against Alabama A&M on Wednesday.
The Panthers (0-2) dropped their season opener at Oregon State last Saturday, 70-53, then fell to Duquesne, 77-57, in another road game on Tuesday. Texas A&M leads the series against Prairie View A&M, 5-0, and is 13-1 against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Prairie View A&M finished 17-12 last season and won the SWAC regular season title with a 14-4 mark in coach Jerome Francis, Jr.'s first season. The Panthers took the Aggies to two overtimes in a hard-fought game last year in Prairie View before falling, 83-78.
"We remember from last year how hard Prairie View plays," A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. "They are a well-coached team with good size. I thought we showed some improvement between our first two games and we'd like to build on that."
The Panthers are led by 6-foot-10 freshman forward Tyrone Nelson, a transfer from Baylor who is averaging 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Mammoth center Roderick Riley, a 6-foot-11, 327-pound senior, is adding 12.5 points and 8.0 rebounds. The Panthers start four seniors.
Senior forward Jesse King (6-foot-7) leads the Aggies in scoring with an 18.0 average and also is the team leader in rebounding with 9.5 per game. He had his first career double-double in the opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and followed with a career-high 23 points against Alabama A&M.
"Jesse is becoming more comfortable in his role," Watkins said. "We're starting to see his senior leadership come out. I think there's another level to Jesse's game that we haven't seen and we'll need that later on this season."
Through two games, junior point guard Bobby Leach has handed out 15 assists with just two turnovers, while backcourt mate Acie Law IV has had 10 assists and no turnovers. The two point guards have combined for 25 assists and just two turnovers for the season. As a team, the Aggies are averaging 26.5 assists and just 10.0 turnovers.
Other A&M players averaging in double figures in scoring are senior Kevin Turner (13.0) and sophomores Antoine Wright (10.5) and Marcus Watkins (10.5).
The game will be broadcast on radio by the Texas A&M Sports Network (KAGG-FM, 96.1 in the Brazos Valley) and can also be heard via the internet (www.AggieAthletics.com) with Dave South on play-by-play and Al Pulliam on commentary.
Tickets are $6 for gallery section seats, $10 for balcony seats, $12 for mezzanine seats and $15 for courtside seats (if available). Tickets can be purchased through the A&M Athletic Ticket Office (979-845-2311) or the Reed Arena Ticket Office (979-862-7333).
The Aggies begin a two-game road swing on Tuesday against Tennessee in Knoxville, followed by a game against Oakland University in Detroit next Saturday.
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TENTATIVE STARTERS
Texas A&M Aggies (2-0)
G-#30 Bobby Leach 6-0 Jr-Tr 6.5 ppg/7.5 apg
G-#10 Leandro Garcia-Morales 6-1 Sr-1L 8.5 ppg/5.0 apg
F-#21 Antoine Wright 6-7 So-1L 10.5 ppg/2.0 rpg
F-#3 Jesse King III 6-7 Sr-3L 18.0 ppg/9.5 rpg
C-#50 Andy Slocum 7-0 Sr-3L 4.0 ppg/5.5 rpg
Prairie View A&M Panthers (0-2)
G-#11 Kevin Cooper 6-3 Sr. 5.5 ppg/3.5 apg
G-#20 Derek Flora 6-4 Sr. 6.5 ppg/2.5 rpg
F-#24 William Tucker 6-6 Sr. 3.5 ppg/1.5 rpg
F-#40 Tyrone Nelson 6-10 Fr. 14.5 ppg/8.5 rpg
C-#34 Roderick Riley 6-11 Sr. 12.5 ppg/8.0 rpg