Texas A&M
(#18) TEXAS TECH
Aggies Fight Hard, Fall to No. 18 Texas Tech in Closing Seconds
Jan 24, 2004 | Men's Basketball
January 24, 2004
Andre Emmett scored 23 points, including the go-ahead basket with 6 seconds to play, and No. 18 Texas Tech won its 12th consecutive game, an 80-78 victory over Texas A&M on Saturday night.
The Red Raiders (16-2, 4-0 Big 12) led by 12 points late in the first half, but scrapped to for a 40-37 halftime lead and the Aggies (7-8, 0-4) stayed in it in the second half.
There were seven ties in the second half, the last at 78-78 on a putback by Jesse King of the Aggies after a long miss by Leandro Garcia-Morales with 20 seconds to play.
The Raiders, coming off an impressive 67-47 victory over Oklahoma on Monday, didn't wilt.
Emmett fought his way to the basket for the winning layup. The Aggies got one more chance to tie it but Garcia-Morales missed a long shot at the buzzer.
Jarrius Jackson added 16 points and Mikey Marshall had 14 for the Red Raiders, who shot 61 percent from the field.
Acie Law had 14 points for the Aggies, who shot 50 percent.
The Aggies took a 49-46 lead with 16:11 left in the game on a three-point play by Antoine Wright. That was A&M's first lead since the opening minutes of the game and set the tone for a tight battle down to the finish.
The Red Raiders kept pulling away, but the Aggies kept rallying in a back-and-forth first half.
The Red Raiders used an 11-0 run to take a 20-9 lead midway in the first half. The Aggies cut the lead to 24-21 before Jackson hit consecutive 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 35-23 with 4:36 to play.
Then, Wright hit a 3-pointer and Andy Slocum's three-point play got the Aggies back in the game. Acie Law had two late baskets to cut Tech's lead to three at the half.
A&M won 64-59 in College Station last year, denying Texas Tech coach Bob Knight his 800th career victory.
Texas A&M vs. Texas Tech
January 24, 2004
Post game Quotes
Texas Tech Senior Guard Andre Emmett: "Coming out of the last timeout, Coach Knight drew up the play and told me to drive in and get fouled. We ran the play to perfection, and fortunately we got the win. It seemed like every time we scored they had an answer for it. A&M played tough defense. They always had one defender on me tight and the second or third defender coming at me tight quick as soon as I got the ball. I was basically playing as a decoy. We weren't expecting this game to be easy. Texas A&M always plays us tough on the road and at home. They have some real good athletes. It is just a matter of them getting a win. They have had some tough losses."
Texas Tech Head Coach Bobby Knight: "The first thing that I will say about this game is that if we lost it would be a hard loss for us, so obviously it's a tough loss for them. They came back in the first half from 12 down, and again in the second half. They did a really good job in both those cases. What their crowd did today with them being 0-3 in the conference was incredible. For them to have this crowd is a tremendous compliment to basketball here at Texas A&M. I take my hat off to the crowd. A lot of places if a team is 0-3, the crowd is just mothers and friends. I think the key to the game was when they kept poised and patient when we were up by 12 points. I thought it was a really tough game and we thought it was going to be a tough game coming in. We weren't surprised by that at all."
Texas A&M Senior Post Andy Slocum: "The last four games have been real close. I think we are going to turn it around with a winning streak soon. It is tough, they shot 61 percent and we were still right there and should have won."
Texas A&M Freshman Guard Acie Law: "Down the stretch we couldn't get that one stop. We needed a big play and couldn't get it."
Texas A&M Head Coach Melvin Watkins: "I thought our kids played hard. We deserved a break here and there. I thought Andre Emmett traveled on the spin on the last play. I am not going to let that one play bother me, though. Our kids did some great things and it's just a matter of time. It's got to be the next game. If we keep playing and practicing the way we are, we'll be in good shape. We had a great crowd and atmosphere. We fought back and played pretty much nip and tuck the whole second half. Our focus has to be on our next game. Tech shot 61 percent and that is too high for any team to be playing against. We were focusing on Andre Emmett and lost track of some of their other guys. They made plays when they had to - that's what makes them 16-2. We are disappointed, but not low. I can feel good about what we are doing in practice and the fact that we are being competitive. We are not down."
NOTES:
*Tech's two-point winning margin today marks the third straight A&M-Tech game that has been decided by five points or fewer. Six of the last 10 games between the schools has been decided by no more than five points.
*Tech made 61.5 percent from the field, a season-high by an A&M opponent.
*The Aggies made 50.8 percent from the field, its third best shooting performance of the season. Tech came into the game as one of the Big 12's top defensive teams, allowing just 39.9 percent for the season.
*Today's attendance of 12,124 was a season-high at Reed Arena and was the fourth largest in A&M history.
*A&M out-rebounded Tech, 35-21. The Aggies have out-rebounded 12 of their 15 opponents this season, including seven straight. In the last six games, A&M has posted a +11.8 rebounding margin.
