Texas A&M
(#3) OKLAHOMA
Aggies Fall to No. 3 Oklahoma, 69-64
Mar 01, 2003 | Men's Basketball
March 01, 2003
Hollis Price scored 23 points and led a strong effort from beyond the arc as third-ranked Oklahoma held on for a 69-64 Big 12 Conference victory over Texas A&M.
A senior point guard, Price has been a steady influence all season for the Sooners, who entered off of Wednesday's 67-52 loss at Missouri which coach Kelvin Sampson said he had no explanation for the poor performance.
Price led the way again Saturday, scoring 14 points in the opening half for the Sooners (20-5, 11-3), who remained tied with Texas in the conference standings, one game behind first-place Kansas.
Price hit four of the Sooners' nine 3-pointers.
Ebi Ere added 12 points for Oklahoma, which led by as many as 17 points in the second half before the Aggies crawled to within three in the waning seconds. But Price made two foul shots with 7.3 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
Bernard King netted 17 points and Tomas Ress 11 for the Aggies (13-12, 5-9), who host Baylor Wednesday in A&M's final home game of the season.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas A&M Forward Tomas Ress: "In the first half we came out too sluggish, but we fought hard in the second half. We just didn't have enough to pull it out. It was disappointing. We are still in the race, but this one is tough. We have two more games that we can and need to win. We'll be fine. In the first half we gave up too many offensive boards, and we couldn't stop Hollis Price."
Texas A&M Guard Bernard King: (On Hollis Price) "He's pretty tough and he's quick. Once you rest on defense, he's already shooting. I don't think that we respected him as much as we should have and he scored all those points in the first half. They were guarding me close, but I was just trying to pick my spots. Last game (against Kansas) I felt that I forced things too much, and I just wanted the game to come to me. They were tough on defense. They are ranked and are one of the best in the conference defensively. Hollis is a good defensive player. Like I said he is quick. He is just always there like a little bug. We still feel we are in the race. This is one we could and should have won, but we came out too sluggish in the first half. Wednesday night (against Baylor) is a must win for us. Baylor beat us up there in a game we thought we should have won. We are going to come out ready. It is senior night and we need to win. They better come in here ready to play."
Texas A&M Head Coach Melvin Watkins: "We started the game off a little sluggish. We were very fortunate to be able to get back in. They are a good basketball team. (Hollis) Price has a way to make them go. For us to beat a team like that, we have to be firing on all cylinders and we weren't today. Price played great. He was out there on defense, too. Tomas (Ress) has been one of our steadiest players. He's not getting enough credit. He's been playing a lot more minutes than we thought he would. I thought Bernard (King) was trying to pace himself and we needed him to play more aggressive. We have two games left and we still have something to play for. If you can get to the Big 12 Tournament, things can happen."
Oklahoma Guard Hollis Price: "This was my eighth time to play against Bernard (King). Going back AAU ball (they were teammates in AAU ball), he's a good passer and he's a good scorer. The whole team guarded him. "
Oklahoma Head Coach Kelvin Sampson: "We are most proud of being 5-3 on the road. That is very significant in this league. This year is the best the Big 12 has ever been. For us to go 5-3 on the road this year, I'm very proud. Last year's team should have gone 5-3. (On A&M"s late comeback) I didn't overreact to that. We were up 17 and if we make our free throws, they don't come back. Give A&M credit. Those were some hellacious threes they were putting up. Bernard (King) is a good player and so is Antoine Wright. The only teams that have beaten them here are the best teams in the conference. Hollis (Price) doesn't get enough credit for every aspect of the game. That's why I think he's the best player in the league. Hollis, as good as he was on offense today, he was even better on defense."
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME NOTES:
- The Aggies have lost three straight games for this first time this season.
- Tomas Ress tied his season-high with 11 points and added six rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots.
- Bernard King scored 17 points with 8 assists, his most assists since he tied his career high with 11 against Kansas State on Jan. 25. King also added three steals.
- King now has 1,950 career points and needs 50 to become only the fifth guard from any Big 12 school to reach 2,000 in a career. King also needs 11 rebounds to reach 500. He could become only the eighth Div. I player in history to score 2,000 points with 500 rebounds and 500 assists. He now has 534 career assists and needs two more to move into second on A&M's career list, moving past Dave Goff (535 in 1976-80).
- A&M made just 40.7 percent from the field, their worst at Reed Arena this season. Coming into the game, the Aggies were shooting 48.2 percent at home. Oklahoma's 49.0 percent from the field was the second best by an A&M opponent at Reed Arena this season (Oklahoma State made 54.4 percent).
- A&M needs one more regular season win to lock up its first .500 season in nine years.
