December 16, 2003
Note: A complete PDF version of this release is available at www.aggieathletics.com. Complete statistics also are available on the website.
GAME #7
Texas A&M Aggies
(3-3, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners
(3-5, 0-0 SLC)
8 p.m. (CST)
Thursday, Dec.18, 2003
Alamodome (44,000 cap.)
San Antonio, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 7:40 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
Station Freq. Market
KIXL-AM 970 Austin
KAGG-FM 96.1 College Station
KWHI-AM 1280 Brenham
KGAS-AM 1590 Carthage
KCOM-AM 1550 Comanche
KBHT-FM 93.5 Crockett
KFXR-AM 1190 Dallas
KULP-AM 1390 El Campo
KCTI-AM 1450 Gonzales
KTHP-FM 103.9 Hemphill
KPRC-AM 950 Houston
KRBA-AM 1340 Lufkin
KMHT-AM 1450 Marshall
KMOO-FM 99.9 Mineola
KSST-AM 1230 Sulphur Springs
KKTK-AM 1400 Texarkana
TELEVISION:
Fox Sports Southwest
Kevin Eschenfelder, play-by-play
Jim Haller, commentary
Trying to end a three-game losing skid, the Texas A&M Aggies (3-3) play the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners (3-5) on Thursday at 8 p.m. (CST) at the Alamodome (44,000 cap.) in San Antonio. The facility is the site of the 2004 NCAA Final Four. The game will be televised regionally by Fox Sports Southwest. The Aggies are coming off an 82-80 home loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday, while UTSA has won two straight and is coming off a 100-71 home win against Sul Ross State on Tuesday. The Roadrunners beat Baylor, 53-45, on Saturday in Waco. A member of the Southland Conference, UTSA won the only previous meeting against A&M last year in College Station, 80-75. The Aggies are 0-2 in road games this season while the Roadrunners are 1-2 in home games. A&M is 103-36 against members of the Southland Conference and UTSA is 6-28 against teams from the Big 12.
About UTSA
The Roadrunners return two starters and four lettermen from last year's team, which finished 10-17 overall and placed ninth in the Southland Conference with a 7-13 mark. UTSA is in its ninth season under head coach Tim Carter, who has a 118-113 record. Projected as one of the top three SLC teams coming into the season (Blue Ribbon Yearbook), the Roadrunners are led by senior forward LeRoy Hurd (6'7"), the preseason pick as the SLC Player of the Year. Hurd, who transferred to UTSA from Miami (Fla.), is averaging 18.8 points and 8.3 rebounds and scored 33 points in Tuesday's win against Sul Ross State. Junior guard Raphael Posey (6'2") averages 10.8 points and 4.6 rebounds and is making 41.2 percent (14-34) from three-point range, while freshman guard Kurt Attaway (6'0") adds 8.5 points and leads the team in assists with a 3.1 average. Junior center Anthony Fuqua (6'11") is contributing 6.9 points and 6.9 rebounds and junior guard Justin Harbert (6'1"), a transfer from Colorado and a member of the 2001 Big 12 All-Freshman team, averages 7.0 points and has made 12 three-pointers. As a team, UTSA has made just 40.0 percent from the field, but has limited its opponents to 42.2 percent accuracy.
SERIES
Thursday's game marks the second meeting between the schools. UTSA upset the Aggies last year by a score of 80-75 in College Station. A&M is 103-36 against members of the Southland Conference, while UTSA is 6-28 against teams from the Big 12.
TEXAS A&M vs. UTSA
(UTSA leads, 1-0)
Year Winner Site
2002-03 UTSA, 80-75 College Station
The Coaches
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
56-94 at A&M (6th year)
98-114 overall (8th year)
0-1 vs. UTSA
0-1 vs. Tim Carter
UTSA
Tim Carter (Kansas '79)
118-113 at UTSA (9th year)
129-129 overall (10th year)
1-0 vs. Texas A&M
1-0 vs. Melvin Watkins
TALE OF THE TAPE
A&M UTSA
Record 3-3 3-5
Conference 0-0 0-0
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) -- --
Streak L3 W2
Field Goal Pct. .445 .400
Opponent FG Pct. .482 .422
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .375 .351
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .381 .381
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.5 6.5
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 17.3 18.5
Free Throw Pct. .673 .656
Opponent FT Pct. .697 .659
Rebound Avg. 38.3 37.6
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.5 12.4
Rebounding Margin +1.3 +1.2
Turnovers Avg. 14.3 19.9
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 17.2 17.9
Assists Avg. 19.5 12.0
Blocks Avg. 1.6 3.0
Steals Avg. 7.7 7.6
Scoring Avg. 82.0 63.9
Opponent Scoring 79.5 67.6
Scoring Margin +2.5 -3.7
SIDEBARS
Thursday's game will mark the Aggies' first appearance in basketball at the Alamodome, although A&M has played three football games in the facility...the football team beat Michigan (22-20) in the 1995 Alamo Bowl, lost to Nebraska (54-15) in the 1997 Big 12 Championship game and tied SMU (21-21) in a Southwest Conference game in 1994...the Alamodome is the site of the 2004 NCAA Final Four (April 3-5)...the facility also has played host to the 1998 Men's Final Four and the 2002 Women's Final Four in additional to various regionals...the Alamodome already has been selected as the site of the 2008 Men's Final Four and the 2010 Women's Final Four...A&M's last basketball appearance in San Antonio came in the 1980 SWC Tournament played at the Hemisfair Arena, where A&M beat Texas Tech, 61-51, then edged Arkansas, 52-50, to win the SWC title...UTSA Athletic Director Lynn Hickey is a former women's basketball coach and administrator at A&M...Hickey served as head coach from 1984-94, leading the Aggies to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in 1994, and served as senior associate AD from 1994 until taking the UTSA job in 1999...UTSA Associate AD Liz Dalton played soccer at A&M and assistant Sports Information Director Kyle Stephens is a former graduate and student assistant in the A&M SID Office.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (3-3)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 9.0 7.8
3 Jesse King III F 6-7 Sr. 12.0 6.0
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 11.3 3.3
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 6.0 3.8a
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 6.0 4.5a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 9.4 2.0
1 Acie Law IV G 6-3 Fr. 8.8 3.6a
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 5.8 2.8
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 5.7 4.3
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 5.2 1.8
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.4 1.4
42 Marlon Pompey F 6-8 Fr. 3.7 1.3
12 Dylan Leal G 6-4 Sr. 1.2 0.2
33 Justin Loewe G 6-4 Fr. 0.7 0.3
Watkins' Quoteboard
"Right now, because of our psyche, all these teams are dangerous. What
happens is that because those teams think they can beat us -- and rightfully
so -- they'll come in and play us a little harder. You might say this is a
big game for UTSA, but it's a big game for us, too. We need to go and get
that win on the road, get some confidence and get back on track."
TAMUCC Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Travis Bailey scored 22 points, Brian Evans added 21 and they both hit key free throws in the closing seconds as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat Texas A&M 82-80 Saturday night. A&M-Corpus Christi (4-3) led by as many as 13 in the second half before the Aggies (3-3) pulled to within 75-74 on Jesse King's basket with 42 seconds left. Bailey and Evans then combined to make 7-for-8 from the line to put the game away. Freshman point guard Acie Law had 15 points and five assists for A&M, which lost its third straight. The Aggies led 37-35 at halftime, but A&M-Corpus Christi went on a 16-2 run to open the second half. Bailey scored 10 points in the stretch.
Texas A&M went more than 14 minutes in the second half before making consecutive baskets, as A&M-Corpus Christi shot 70 percent in the first 15 minutes of the second half. The Aggies trailed by 10 again with 1:19 remaining before scoring nine points in less than 25 seconds to get within 75-74.
Last Year vs. UTSA
COLLEGE STATION (AP, Dec. 15, 2002) -- Ike Akotaobi posted 29 points and nine rebounds to lead Texas-San Antonio to an 80-75 victory over Texas A&M. UTSA (3-3) got clutch shots from Akotaobi to keep the Roadrunners in the game. But the senior forward fouled out late and it was LeRoy Hurd who gave UTSA the final lead hitting a a jump shot with 1:27 remaining to go up 74-73. Hurd scored 20. The Roadrunners did not miss a field goal in the final 6:50 to become the first team to defeat A&M at home this season. Texas A&M (5-2) was led by a 16-point performance by freshman Antoine Wright. The Aggies missed all six free throw attempts in the final two minutes. Akotaobi scored with two seconds left in the opening period to give the Roadrunners a 34-32 lead heading into the break. Both teams shot just 37-percent in the opening half, but the Roadrunners used a 30-17 rebounding advantage to overcome an early seven point deficit. Kevin Turner hit his third three-pointer of the game midway through the second half to give A&M a 59-50 lead, its largest of the game. Akataobi cut the Aggies' lead to two twice inside the five minute mark on 3-point plays. Akataobi trimmed the A&M lead to 73-72 with just two minutes remaining on a third three-point play, but he fouled Bernard King on the other end for his fifth foul. King missed both free throws, his first misses at the line all game. Hurd made the most of it, hitting a jumper to give UTSA a 74-73 lead with 1:27 remaining. The Roadrunners closed the game with an 11-2 run in the final two minutes remaining to erase a 73-69 deficit. A&M's only basket in the final two minutes was a layup by Wright with just two seconds remaining. The Aggies missed all six free throws in the same stretch.
Quick Notes
*Texas A&M has not played basketball in San Antonio since winning the 1980 SWC Tournament title with two wins at the Hemisfair Arena.
*Jesse King leads the team in scoring (12.0) and ranks third in the Big 12 in three-point percentage (.600). King also ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.0), despite being limited in two games because of a back injury.
*Antoine Wright is battling a slump. He is averaging 11.3 points, but is making just 36 percent from the field, 23 percent from three-point range and 39 percent from the free throw line.
*A&M point guards Bobby Leach and Acie Law have combined for 45 assists and just 17 turnovers. Leach ranks third in the Big 12 in assists-to-turnovers ratio (3.38).
*Leandro Garcia-Morales leads the Big 12 in assists-to-turnovers ratio (19-to-3).
*As a team, the Aggies lead the Big 12 in assists (19.5) and assists-to-turnovers ratio (1.36), despite making just 44.5 percent from the field.
*The Aggies also lead the Big 12 in three-point percentage, making 37.5 percent. A&M's 6.5 three-pointers per game are the league's second most.
*Kevin Turner's career three-point percentage of .430 ranks as the best in school history and is the fifth best in Big 12 annals.
*Ten Aggies are averaging between 5.2 and 12.0 points per game and 11 are averaging at least 12.2 minutes per game. Only Antoine Wright is averaging more than 22 minutes per game.
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (79.5), field goal percentage defense (.482), three-point percentage defense (.381), blocked shots (1.7) and defensive rebounds (22.8).
*A&M is averaging 15.5 offensive rebounds per game, fifth most in the Big 12, but are averaging just 16.5 second-chance points.
* The Aggies have forced an average of 17.2 turnovers per game, eighth most in the Big 12, but are averaging just 23.2 points off turnovers.