Texas A&M
SOUTHERN
Texas A&M 88, Southern 44
Nov 20, 2005 | Men's Basketball
November 20, 2005
Acie Law scored 18 points and Eddie Smith added 15 as Texas A&M defeated Southern University 88-44 Sunday night.
Southern kept the score close in the first 10 minutes of the game until Texas A&M (1-0) went on a 21-9 run in the last nine minutes of the half, including nine points from Marlon Pompey off of free throws during the run. Pompey finished the night with 12 points.
The Aggies went on a 24-4 run in the second half, including seven 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes.
Chris Alexander was the lone bright spot for Southern (0-4) on the night with 11 points and three rebounds, the only player on the Southern bench to reach the double-digit mark in points in what was the team's worst loss this season.
It was the largest margin of victory for A&M since a 44-point defeat of Texas in 1959.
Sloppy play dictated first half play on both sides of the ball, as Southern committed 14 turnovers compared to A&M's seven, with both teams making less than 45 percent of their shots.
Southern scored most of its second-half points from the line with 12 points on 15 fouls by A&M. Southern shot 67.7 percent as a team from the free-throw line on the night.
Texas A&M Postgame Quotes
TEXAS A&M FORWARD MARLON POMPEY: "We have our ups and downs in practice, we have our struggles, but we were ready for the game. We were not expecting to jump out that quickly. We play with a lot of energy and we do what we have to do to win."
TEXAS A&M GUARD ACIE LAW: "We played with defensive intensity, but we are fouling too much. We have got to be concious of fouls but still play aggressively and to our ability. My game plan was to take what the defense gave me. If we play good defense we can stop you. We need to play good defense and make our offensive opportunities that way."
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY GILLISPIE: "Tonight was a good effort. Our execution was not great, but our transition defense was fantastic. Southern was hard to guard. Defensively we did not guard the ball well. Twenty-eight fouls is way too many, and we have to do better. It is fun to win, and this gave us something to build upon. I saw good things in transition. Our half court offense was shabby. We played too much on the perimeter, and we did not attack the gaps. We have been better about attacking them in practice but for some reason we were not good at it tonight. We are way ahead of where we were a year ago. Our transitions are better, our defense is better, rebounding is better. Our offense is fifty times better, but we are still not there yet. We play hard and we practice hard and we are way ahead of a year ago. I want to dominate the ball handler, allow no touches in the post, and help if we do allow them to catch the ball there. I want to contest every shot, and I want to have no fouls. I want to have a perfect team and play a perfectly executed game."
