November 30, 2004
GAME #4
Texas A&M AGGIES
(4-0, 0-0 Big 12)
vs.
Oakland GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
(0-3, 0-0 MCC)
7 p.m. (CST)
Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004
Reed Arena (12,500 cap.)
College Station, Texas
RADIO:
Texas A&M Sports Network
Dave South, play-by-play
Al Pulliam, commentary
Airtime: 6:45 p.m. (CST)
ONLINE: www.AggieAthletics.com
TELEVISION:
None
Postgame Satellite Highlight Feed
9:45-10 p.m. (Central)
Galaxy 3, Transponder 7
TICKETS:
Available at door
($12, $10, $6)
PROMOTION:
The men's and women's basketball programs will collect toys prior to many of the home games in December. Fans who donate a "new or gently-used" toy will receive free admission to any of the games designated as "Toy Drive" games. Those games are:
* 12/1 ? men vs. Oakland ? 7 p.m.
* 12/4 ? women vs. Texas State ? 2 p.m.
* 12/4 ? men vs. Prairie View A&M ? 7:30 p.m.
* 12/11 ? men vs. Alabama A&M ? 2 p.m.
* 12/12 ? women vs. McNeese State ? 2:30 p.m.
* 12/15 ? men vs. Louisiana Monroe ? 7 p.m.
* 12/19 ? women vs. Northwestern State ? 2:30 p.m.
* 12/19 ? men vs. Chicago State ? 7 p.m.
All donations will benefit 98.3 KORA's "Radio Mash" (which runs from Dec.
2-6) and "Toys for Tots." Donations will be accepted by members of the Dance Team and the Aggie Angels starting when doors open 1 1/2 hours prior to tipoff and will continue until game time.
The Texas A&M Aggies (3-0, 0-0 in Big 12) battle the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (0-3, 0-0 in the Mid-Continent Conference) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
(CST) at Reed Arena (12,500 cap.) in College Station. The Aggies are 3-0, all at home, after opening the season with decisive wins against North Carolina A&T (89-56), Trinity (67-48) and Texas-Permian Basin (98-36). A win would hand first-year coach Billy Gillispie the best coaching start in Aggieland since H.R. McQuillan began his A&M career with a 4-0 mark in 1935-36. A&M last started a season 4-0 in 2001-02. The Golden Grizzlies have lost three straight against a brutal schedule to open the season and are coming off a 95-87 loss to Marquette at home on Saturday. Oakland is 0-2 in road games.
About Oakland
The Golden Grizzlies return five lettermen and three starters from last year's team that finished 13-17 overall and tied for 7th in the Mid-Continent Conference with a 6-10 mark. Oakland is in its 21st season under coach Greg Kampe. The Grizzlies have played one of the nation's toughest schedules, opening the season with road losses to Xavier (69-58) and No. 4-ranked Illinois (85-54), followed by a loss at home to Marquette (95-87). The Grizzlies are led by senior guard/forward Rawle (pronounced
rall) Marshall (6'7"), an All-America candidate who is averaging 20.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Marshall, projected as a potential first-round NBA draft pick, scored 21 points against the Aggies last season. Two years ago at Reed Arena, he only scored 10 points on 2-of-16 shooting, but grabbed 10 steals, tying for the most ever by an A&M opponent. Senior forward Cortney Scott (6'6", 260 lbs.) is averaging 17.0 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds, while sophomore guard Kris Krzyminski (6'2") adds 7.7 points and 3.3 rebounds. Scott scored 18 points against A&M last year.
THE SERIES
The series is tied, 1-1, with each team winning at home. A&M defeated the Grizzlies, 71-65, two years ago at Reed Arena, while Oakland posted a 90-58 victory last year in Rochester, Mich. A&M is 31-15 against current members of the Mid-Continent Conference. TEXAS A&M vs. OAKLAND (Tied, 1-1)
Year Winner Site
2002-03 A&M, 71-65 College Station
2003-04 OU, 90-58 Rochester, Mich.
THE COACHES
TEXAS A&M
Billy Gillispie (Texas State ?83)
3-0 at A&M (1st year)
33-32 overall (3rd year)
0-0 vs. Oakland
0-0 vs. Greg Kampe
OAKLAND
Greg Kampe (Bowling Green ?78)
336-239 at OU (21st year)
336-239 overall (21st year)
1-1 vs. Texas A&M
0-0 vs. Billy Gillispie
Tentative Starters
TEXAS A&M AGGIES (3-0, 0-0)
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
30 Joseph Jones 6'9" Fr. 11.0 9.0 1.3 blk
4 Edjuan Green 6'7" Jr. 7.0 5.5 1.5 stl
21 Antoine Wright 6'7" Jr. 18.0 8.0 56% FG
22 Dominique Kirk 6'3" Fr. 8.0 1.7 2.3 ast
1 Acie Law 6'3" So. 12.7 3.7 6.7 ast
Off the Bench
No. Player Ht. Cl. PPG RPG Other
42 Marlon Pompey 6'8" So. 7.3 4.0 82% FG
15 Bobby Leach 6'0" Sr. 5.3 1.7 2.3 ast
2 Marcus McIntosh 6'0" So. 4.7 1.7 1.3 ast
10 Chris Walker 6'5" Jr. 4.0 1.7 1.0 ast
33 Justin Loewe 6'4" So. 3.5 0.5
5 Kenneth White 6'1" Fr. 2.0 1.0 --
23 Brian Gahan 6'4" Sr. 2.0 2.7 1.0 ast
11 Luis Clemente 6'8" Jr. 1.7 0.3 75% FT
24 Stephen Davenport 6'3" Fr. 1.0 0.3 --
40 Slade Weishuhn 6'9" Fr. -- -- --
Gillispie Quoteboard
"Everybody knows what (Oakland) did to us last year. I try not to bring that up too much, except about every five seconds. They lost by eight to Marquette on Saturday night. They lost to Xavier, an Elite Eight team last year, and they lost to Illinois, who may be the best team in the country right now. They have a first round draft choice in Rawle Marshall. He's very difficult to guard. They have a Big Ten transfer who is really a good player for them in Cortney Scott. We played against him when I was at Illinois. They're going to come in here with a great deal of confidence. It will be a major test for us, especially the way we've attacked zones thus far in the season. They'll play a 1-3-1 zone most of the time. They are a dangerous team. They trap a little bit. They spread it out much more than Trinity did in their 1-3-1 zone. They're long and they're athletic and they really know how to cover out of it. We'll have to execute much better than we have at anytime this year. They're also much bigger bodies, so it gives them the capability to rebound much better, too. That will be a major concern for us on Wednesday."
Tale of the Tape
(2004-05 stat comparison)
A&M OU
Record 3-0 0-3
Conference 0-0 0-0
Ratings Pct. Index (RPI) -- --
Streak W3 L3
Field Goal Pct. .506 .384
Opponent FG Pct. .273 .509
3-Pt. Field Goal Pct. .385 .218
Opponent 3-Pt. Pct. .273 .444
3-Pt. Field Goal Avg. 6.7 4.0
3-Pt. FG Attempts Avg. 17.3 18.3
Free Throw Pct. .759 .745
Opponent FT Pct. .607 .729
Rebound Avg. 43.7 35.0
Offensive Reb. Avg. 14.3 15.3
Rebounding Margin +13.7 -2.0
Turnovers Avg. 17.0 10.3
Opp. Turnovers Avg. 23.7 12.0
Assists Avg. 17.3 15.0
Blocks Avg. 4.3 1.7
Steals Avg. 10.7 7.0
Scoring Avg. 84.7 66.3
Opponent Scoring 46.7 83.0
Scoring Margin +38.0 -16.7
UTPB Recap
COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Acie Law had 18 points and four other Texas A&M players scored in double figures as the Aggies recorded the most lopsided win in school history with a 98-36 win over Texas-Permian Basin on Saturday. Law was 7-of-14 from the field and had 11 assists, six rebounds and three steals for the Aggies (3-0), whose 62-point margin of victory broke the school record 57-point gap set against Centenary in 1958. Antoine Wright scored 17 points, Joseph Jones and Chris Walker each had 12, and Dominique Kirk had 11 for A&M, which shot 53 percent from the field and 46 percent on 3-pointers. Texas-Permian Basin (0-6) shot just 21 percent from the field. The starting five combined to go 8-of-36, and only Mario Saunders (16
points) scored in double figures for the Falcons. Saunders also hit the only 3-pointer for the Falcons, who were 1-of-15 from beyond the 3-point line. Jones had 13 rebounds and Wright had 10 for A&M, which outrebounded the Falcons 55-30.
Last Year vs. Oakland
ROCHESTER, Mich. (AP, Dec. 6, 2003) -- Rawle Marshall scored 21 points and Mike Helms added 19 as Oakland beat Texas A&M, 90-58. The win ended the Golden Grizzlies' five-game losing streak and was just the third against major-conference opposition in Oakland's six years in Division I. Oakland
(3-5) also got 18 from Cortney Scott in its first win against a Big 12 school. The Aggies (3-2) entered the game with a 34-13 record against Mid-Continent teams, but Nick Anderson was the team's only player to reach double digits with 10 points. Texas A&M's leading scorers, Jesse King and Antoine Wright, combined for just five points on 2-for-14 shooting. Oakland led 41-32 at the half, but scored the first eight after intermission, including two 3-pointers from Helms. Oakland's leading scorer, Helms had lost his spot in the starting lineup because of a shooting slump and played just 20 minutes. Helms picked up his fourth foul with 16:17 to play and Oakland leading 49-35, but the Golden Grizzlies got back-to-back 3-pointers from Kelly Williams and Pierre Dukes and never looked back.
Two Years Ago at Reed Arena
COLLEGE STATION -- Bernard King converted on a 3-point play with 31.2 seconds to play, breaking a tie game and lifting Texas A&M to a 71-65 victory over Oakland. Following an Aggie timeout, King drove through the paint and banked a shot off the glass and in as he took the foul. The senior connected on the ensuing free throw to put A&M up 67-64. The Grizzlies' Mike Helms cut the Aggie lead to two 7 seconds later but missed the second of two free throws and the Aggies (3-1) got the board. A pair of Bradley Jackson free throws and an exclamation-point dunk by Jesse King III sealed the win. Freshman Antoine Wright led Texas A&M with 21 points to go along with six assists and seven rebounds. Helms led all scorers with 31 points while teammates John Floyd and Rawle Marshall added 11 and 10, respectively. The Aggies went on a 9-0 run late in the first half to extend their lead to as much as 10, but the Grizzlies (2-2) trailed by six heading into the break. A&M's lead once again reached into double figures early in the second half when a pair of dunks following missed shots by Jesse King III put the Aggies up 39-28 with 18 minutes to go. Oakland came out of a 30-second timeout and whittled away at the A&M lead, taking their first lead of the half with 9:28 to go on a Helms jumper. With the Grizzlies up six, Texas A&M scored six straight to take a 1-point lead with just over four minutes to play, and the teams traded leads until the final minute of play. Oakland was plagued by poor free throw shooting all night, as the Grizzlies were just 52 percent from the line including eight second-half misses.
Up With Jones
Freshman Joseph Jones had an impressive college debut against North Carolina A&T, scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds. It marked only the second time in A&M history that a freshman had posted a double-double in his first game. The other was Winston Crite, who had a 24-point, 15-rebound performance against Texas Lutheran in 1983-84. Jones followed has scored in double figures in all three games and added his second double-double against UT-Permian Basin, scoring 12 points with 13 rebounds. Jones leads the team in rebounding (9.0) and ranks third in scoring (11.0). He's tied for the team lead in blocks (1.3). Jones is among the Big 12 leaders in free throw percentage at 91.7 percent (11-of-12).
Pompey Pays
Sophomore Marlon Pompey played sparingly last year as a freshman because of a nagging leg injury, but he still managed to make 9-of-11 shots from the field. He's already matched that total in three games this season, leading the Big 12 in field goal percentage at 81.8 percent (9-of-11). Against North Carolina A&T in the opener, he scored a career-high 12 points with five boards while making 6-of-6 from the field. He followed with a career-high five rebounds, along with five points, against Trinity. In his career, Pompey has made an incredible 18-of-22 (.818) from the field.
A Record Crowd
The North Carolina A&T game attracted an attendance of 6,929, the best for a home opener in school history. The previous best was 6,511 against North Texas in the first game played at Reed Arena in 1998-99. The crowd also was the third best for a non-conference home game in school annals behind the record of 7,192 against LSU in 1981-82 (G. Rollie White Coliseum) and 7,075 against Long Beach State in 2001-02 (Reed Arena).
Gillispie's Debut
The 33-point margin of victory against North Carolina A&T was the best by the Aggies in a season opener since 1981-82, when A&M beat St. Edwards, 104-57. The margin was the biggest by an A&M coach in his first game since 1942-43, when Manning Smith's Aggies beat Duncan Field, 60-21. A win against Oakland would make Gillispie the first coach since the mid-1930s to start his A&M career with four straight wins.
A&M's Best Coaching Starts
Coach Start
1. Tubby Graves (1915-16) 11-0
2. D.X. Bible (1920-21) 6-0
3. H.R. McQuillan (1935-36) 4-0
4. Billy Gillispie (2004-05) 3-0
F.D. Steger (1912-13) 3-0
J.B. Reid (1929-30) 3-0
Melvin Watkins (1998-99) 3-0
The Wright Stuff
Junior Antoine Wright, a preseason All-Big 12 pick by the league's coaches and media, leads the team in scoring with an 18.0 average and is second in rebounding at 8.0. Wright scored 21 points with nine rebounds against Trinity, his best rebounding effort since he had 12 against Kansas in the second Big 12 game last season. It was the 14th 20-point game of Wright's career. He followed with a 17-point, 10-rebound effort against UT-Permian Basin, his first double-double of the year and the eighth of his career.
Stout Defense
Through three games, A&M has allowed just 46.7 points per game while limiting its opponents to just 27.3 percent field goal accuracy, best in the Big 12. In addition, A&M has forced a conference-best 23.7 turnovers per game. UTPB scored just 36 points, the fewest by an opponent since the Aggies beat Texas, 73-29, in 1958-59. UTPB also made just 20.8 percent from the field, the lowest by an opponent in A&M history.
Captain Kirk
After scoring just three points in the opener, freshman Dominique Kirk has scored in double figures in two straight games, averaging 10.5 points in that span. For the season, Kirk is averaging 8.0 points and is second on the team with four three-point field goals, making 50 percent.
Steady Leach
The Aggies' only scholarship senior, Bobby Leach scored six points against Trinity, his most since he scored eight last December against A&M-Corpus Christi. He followed with seven points against UTPB. Leach leads the Big 12 in three-point percentage, making all three of his attempts. For the season, Leach is averaging 5.3 points, 2.3 assists and just 0.3 turnovers.
Random Notes
The Aggies' 62-point margin of victory against UTPB (98-36) was the largest in school history...the previous high was 57 points (95-38) against Centenary in 1958-59...A&M has had five players score in double figures in two of the first three games...A&M has made a blazing 75.9 percent from the free throw line so far, second best in the Big 12...A&M made 68.4 percent from the line last season...walk-on junior Chris Walker scored 12 points and added five rebounds and three assists against UTPB....A&M posted nine blocked shots against UTPB, its most in a game since it had a school-record 11 against Maryland-Eastern Shore in 1997-98...A&M made 11 three-pointers against UTPB, tying for the seventh most in A&M history...sophomore Acie Law leads the Big 12 in assists with 6.7 per game.
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