December 20, 2003
GAME #8
Texas A&M Aggies
(4-3, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Grambling Tigers
(2-6, 0-0 SWAC)
7 p.m. (CST)
Sunday, Dec. 21, 2003
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 6:40 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
No Live TV
Postgame Satellite Feed
Galaxy 3C, Transponder 9C
9:45-10 p.m. (CST)
In their final game before the Christmas break, the Texas A&M Aggies (4-3) play the Grambling State Tigers (2-6) on Sunday at 7 p.m. (CST) at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. The Aggies are coming off a 62-49 road win against Texas-San Antonio on Thursday at the Alamodome, ending a three-game losing streak. Grambling has lost two straight and is coming off a 73-35 loss at Saint Louis on Wednesday. A member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), the Tigers are 0-5 in road games this season while the Aggies are 3-1 at home. A&M is 14-1 all-time against members of the SWAC. After breaking for Christmas, the Aggies play at Houston on Saturday.
About Grambling
The Tigers return three starters and six lettermen from last year's team, which finished 12-18 overall and tied for sixth in the SWAC with a 9-9 mark. GSU is in its fourth season under head coach Larry Wright, who has a 32-90 record. Projected to finish second in the SWAC coming into the season (Blue Ribbon Yearbook), the Tigers are led by senior forward Paul Haynes (6'8"), the preseason pick as the SWAC Player of the Year. Haynes, the 2002 SWAC Player of the Year, averages 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds. Sophomore guard Brion Rush (6'1"), the 2003 SWAC Freshman of the Year, leads the team in scoring with a 17.5 average and has made 29-of-77 (.377) from three-point range. Junior forward Larry Haygood (6'9") adds 5.8 points while junior guard Ron Ellis (6'0") is contributing 5.1 points. Sophomore guard Maurice Searight (6'2"), a transfer from Michigan who is the preseason pick as the SWAC Newcomer of the Year, is averaging just 4.4 points but is dishing out an average of 7.1 assists. The Tigers have played an ambitious schedule, with their six losses coming on the road to Georgetown (83-36), Arkansas (64-46), Auburn (105-56), Marquette (71-55), Stephen F. Austin (68-50) and Saint Louis (73-35). They have won both of their home games, beating Wiley College (113-95) and Texas College (102-88).
THE SERIES
Sunday's game marks the first meeting between the schools. A&M is 14-1 against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, including a 3-0 mark this season.
THE COACHES
TEXAS A&M
Melvin Watkins (UNC Charlotte '77)
57-94 at A&M (6th year)
99-114 overall (8th year)
0-0 vs. Grambling
0-0 vs. Larry Wright
Grambling
Larry Wright (Grambling '75)
32-90 at GSU (4th year)
32-90 overall (4th year)
0-0 vs. Texas A&M
0-0 vs. Melvin Watkins
PROJECTED STARTERS
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (4-3)
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
50 Andy Slocum C 7-0 Sr. 8.3 7.9
3 Jesse King III F 6-7 Sr. 12.3 6.4
21 Antoine Wright F/G 6-7 So. 11.0 3.4
10 Leandro Garcia-Morales G 6-1 Sr. 5.0 3.3a
30 Bobby Leach G 6-0 Jr. 5.7 4.1a
Off the Bench
No. Player P Ht. Cl. PPG RPG
22 Kevin Turner G 6-2 Sr. 10.3 2.0
1 Acie Law IV G 6-3 Fr. 8.7 3.5a
11 Luis Clemente F 6-8 So. 5.0 2.7
5 Nick Anderson F 6-6 Sr. 4.9 3.9
32 Marcus Watkins G 6-4 So. 5.0 1.7
23 Keith Blanks F 6-5 Fr. 4.3 1.3
42 Marlon Pompey F 6-8 Fr. 2.8 1.0
12 Dylan Leal G 6-4 Sr. 1.2 0.2
33 Justin Loewe G 6-4 Fr. 0.7 0.3
TALE OF THE TAPE
A&M GSU
Record 4-3 2-6
Conference 0-0 0-0
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) -- --
Streak W1 L2
Field Goal Pct. .436 .406
Opponent FG Pct. .462 .509
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .381 .297
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .363 .439
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.4 5.4
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 16.9 18.1
Free Throw Pct. .688 .604
Opponent FT Pct. .694 .692
Rebound Avg. 38.4 32.9
Offensive Reb. Avg. 15.1 11.9
Rebounding Margin +1.5 -2.1
Turnovers Avg. 14.3 21.1
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 17.4 15.9
Assists Avg. 18.0 14.4
Blocks Avg. 1.7 2.1
Steals Avg. 7.6 7.4
Scoring Avg. 79.1 61.6
Opponent Scoring 75.1 80.9
Scoring Margin +4.0 -19.3
WATKINS QUOTEBOARD
"We're excited to come back home for our last game before the Christmas break. Going into the UTSA game, we needed a game in which we could gain some confidence. I think the things we did on the defensive end will help get us back on track and help us to start playing the way this team is capable of playing. We had a marathon of a practice on Tuesday and offense wasn't a big part of it. As a result, we struggled a little on the offensive end but most of our problems recently have been with our defense and that's what we needed to focus on. We want to build on that and continue to improve. Grambling is a very athletic team that is picked to contend for their conference title, so we know we have to be ready to play."
UTSA Recap
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Kevin Turner scored all of his 15 points on 3-pointers in the second half Thursday night to lead Texas A&M to a 62-49 victory over Texas-San Antonio. Turner, who played only three minutes in the first half and 18 for the game, came in shooting 57 percent from the 3-point line this season (11-19). Jesse King added 14 points for the Aggies (4-3). The Roadrunners had a 36-33 lead in the second half when Kurt Attaway made a layup with 11:14 left. The Aggies then went on a 27-7 run, fueled by Turner's five 3-pointers, to take a 60-44 lead with 4:45. Antoine Wright, A&M's second leading scorer struggled from the field, shooting 1 of 9 for nine points. He was perfect from the free throw line, going 6 for 6. LeRoy Hurd led the Roadrunners (3-6) with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Anthony Fuqua also had 10 points. Texas-San Antonio hit 17 of 52 from the field (32 percent) and struggled to maintain any offensive consistency in the half, converting only one of their nine 3-point attempts.
SIDEBARS
Sunday's game is the second double-header the Aggies have had with the A&M women's basketball team...last week, the A&M women beat Louisiana-Monroe befor ethe Aggies took on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi...on Sunday, the women play host to Marshall at 2:30 p.m....fans who purchase a ticket get a second ticket free to each game...after the Christmas break, the Aggies play the Houston Cougars on Saturday at Hofheniz Pavilion in Houston...the Aggies and Cougars have not played since 1996, the last year of the Southwest Conference...A&M joined the Big 12 in 1996-97 and Houston joined Conference USA, where they were 0-3 against North Carolina Charlotte teams coached by Melvin Watkins...A&M has since played four neutral site games in Houston, beating Rice (56-53) at the Compaq Center in 1999, falling to North Carolina (82-60) in the Compaq Center in 2000, losing to Tulsa (90-56) in the Compaq Center in 2001 and beating LSU (79-77) last year at Reliant Stadium...after the Houston game, the Aggies open the next year at Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, Jan. 3 before closing out the non-conference schedule at home against Long Island on Tuesay, Jan. 6...the Aggies start Big 12 play against Missouri on Jan. 10 in Columbia, Mo.
Quickie Notes
*Texas A&M an Grambling have never played, but A&M is 14-1 against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
*Jesse King leads the team in scoring (12.3) and ranks fourth in the Big 12 in three-point percentage (.562). King also ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.4), despite being limited in two games because of a back injury.
*Antoine Wright is battling a slump. He is averaging 11.0 points, but is making just 33.3 percent from the field, 23.5 percent from three-point range and 51 percent from the free throw line.
*A&M point guards Bobby Leach and Acie Law have combined for 50 assists and just 22 turnovers. Leach ranks fourth in the Big 12 in assists-to-turnovers ratio (2.64).
*Leandro Garcia-Morales leads the Big 12 in assists-to-turnovers ratio (20-to-3).
*As a team, the Aggies rank second the Big 12 in assists (18.0) and are third in assists-to-turnovers ratio (1.26), despite making just 43.6 percent from the field.
*The Aggies lead the Big 12 in three-point percentage, making 38.1 percent. A&M's 6.4 three-pointers per game are the league's third most.
*Kevin Turner's career three-point percentage of .447 ranks as the best in school history and is the second in Big 12 annals.
*Eleven Aggies are averaging between 4.3 and 12.3 points per game and all are averaging at least 12.1 minutes per game. Only Antoine Wright is averaging more than 21.3 minutes per game.
*A&M ranks last in the Big 12 in scoring defense (75.1), field goal percentage defense (.462) and blocked shots (1.7).
*A&M is averaging 15.1 offensive rebounds per game, fifth most in the Big 12, but are averaging just 16.1 second-chance points.
*The Aggies have forced an average of 17.4 turnovers per game, seventh most in the Big 12, but are averaging just 21.9 points off turnovers.