Texas A&M
(#21) MISSOURI
Aggie Men Upset No. 21 Missouri, 73-71
Feb 12, 2003 | Men's Basketball
February 12, 2003
Bernard King scored a season-high 29 points and Bradley Jackson scored the go-ahead basket with 2 seconds to play to lead Texas A&M to a 73-71 win over No. 21 Missouri Wednesday night.
The Aggies (12-8, 4-5 Big 12) beat a ranked opponent for the first time since Jan. 23, 2001 when they defeated No. 24 Texas 80-74.
Missouri's Travon Bryant hit a 3-point basket from the top of the key to tie the score at 71 with 23 seconds to play. Jackson then drove to the basket and lofted a short jumper over a crowd of Tigers to give the Aggies the win.
The Tigers (14-6, 5-4) had one more chance but King stole an inbounds pass from Jimmy McKinney to end the game.
Missouri led 37-30 at halftime--its biggest lead of the game--but the Aggies scored the first nine points of the second half and the teams went back and forth the rest of the way.
Jackson finished with 10 points. Arthur Johnson led Missouri with 18 points while Rickey Paulding added 15.
Led by their outside shooters, the Aggies went on a 13-2 run to take a 24-15 lead midway through the first half. King made a basket and then a 3-pointer to key the spurt while Jackson added another 3-pointer on an assist from King. Antoine Wright added a 3-pointer and Jesse King hit a basket to complete the 13-2 run.
The Tigers answered with a 22-6 run over the final eight minutes of the half.
POST GAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Point Guard Bradley Jackson: "This was a really big win for us. The final play was supposed to go to Bernard but I saw just about their whole team go to him off the pick so I took it and it worked out."
Texas A&M Guard Bernard King: (on getting sick after two late free throws) "I think I was drinking too much Gatorade. During that last timeout I drank three cups, and I could just feel it in my stomach. I went out and made those two free throws and then, you saw the rest. We had to come out and win tonight. I wanted to leave it all out on the floor tonight. Our last game against Texas was one of the worst I have ever had (he was 1-of-12 and had 10 points). I just wanted to come back and play strong. (On Bradley Jackson's last second shot) It was supposed to go to me, but off of that pick at least three guys came to me and Bradley did a great job and just took it to the hole. This win feels good. We beat a ranked team but with our team this year, this is what we are supposed to do. We knew that we had to win this game. No matter what it took, I was going to take care of business. (On Antoine Wright's off night) He didn't have to take a whole lot of shots tonight, but when he did he made some big ones. He played a really good game. He played great defense and rebounded the ball well. He did what he had to do."
Texas A&M Head Coach Melvin Watkins: "I really challenged them at half time probably as much as I ever have challenged a team before and they really responded well. At the end of the first half, we weren't playing hard enough. In this league, you have to be aggressive and make plays. This year we are playing for something. We can't make excuses. We have to make things happen. (On Bradley Jackson's last second shot) He read that last play very well. We tried to get it to Bernard and Missouri went straight to him. Bradley read the play well just like a good point guard should. (On the play of Bernard King) Bernard played his guts out tonight, in more ways than one. He didn't have his best game against Texas and he came back and stepped things up. This is a good win and it keeps us on pace for the things we want to accomplish."
Missouri Head Coach Quin Snyder: "We are very disappointed in the result. We started the second half horribly. It was a frustrating game. Our kids have to step it up. There is a higher level you have to play at to win road games in this league. We had guys missing lay-ups and free throws. You have to make those. We should be unbelievably mad at ourselves. I couldn't be more upset with how we handled things in the second half."
Missouri Center Arthur Johnson: (On Jackson's last second shot) "He threw it up there high and got it in. He had the ball and he went to the hoop. We let it slip away. I don't think there are any games we can't win."
TEXAS A&M NOTES:
- Tonight's win against No. 21-ranked Missouri was A&M's first against a ranked team since it beat No. 24-ranked Texas, 80-74, last year in Austin. It was the Aggies' first win against a ranked team at home since 2000, when they beat No. 12-ranked Oklahoma State, 64-59.
- Bernard King scored a season-high 29 points, making a season-best 11-of-16 from the field and 3-of-3 from three-point range. On Saturday against Texas, King scored just 10 points and made a career-low 1-of-12 from the field. Tonight, King also added seven assists (one turnover) and tied his season-best with four steals.
- King became the top career scorer in A&M history for conference games with 1,017 points, passing John Beasley, who had 1,007 points from 1964-66 in Southwest Conference play.
- Tomas Ress tied his career high with eight rebounds and added nine points.
- Bradley Jackson tied his season-high with 10 points and made 2-of-3 from three-point range. Coming into tonight's game, he was 0-of-7 on three-pointers for the season. Jackson also added five assists and had just one turnover.
- The Aggies made 50.0 percent from the field, their best in Big 12 play this season.
- Antoine Wright made just 2-of-9 from the field and had a career-low six points, ending his streak of consecutive games in double figures at 18.
