December 08, 2005
The Texas A&M men's basketball team will be looking to maintain its perfect record when it battles the Grambling State Tigers on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Tickets are available at the door and at www.12thmanfoundation.com. Aggie Athletes Involved (AAI) will be collecting Toys for Tots at each men?â„¢s and women?â„¢s basketball home game through Dec. 21. Fans who donate a new or gently used toy will receive free admission to the game.
A win would give the Aggies a 6-0 record for only the second time since the 1980-81 team started 7-0. A&M started last season with an 11-0 mark. The Aggies have won 18 straight regular-season non-conference games.
A&M is coming off a hard-fought 72-70 victory against North Texas at home on Tuesday. Grambling has been idle since dropping a 58-55 decision last Saturday at Dayton. The Aggies are 5-0 at home while the Tigers are 0-2 on the road.
A&M leads the series, 2-0, posting a 103-101 double-overtime win at home two years ago and a 97-66 victory at Reed Arena last season. A&M is 25-1 against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Grambling is in its sixth season under Coach Larry Wright. The Tigers finished 14-12 last year.
Grambling is led by senior guard Brion Rush (6-2), who is averaging 22.3 oints and scored 30 in the near-upset of Dayton. Rush also leads the team in rebounding (8.5) and assists (4.5).
Sophomore guard Andre Ratliff (5-10) adds 12.0 points while junior forward Anthony Williams (6-6) is contributing 11.5.
Sophomore Joseph Jones leads the Aggies with an 18.4 scoring average and also leads in rebounds with 7.0 per game. Jones scored a career-high 35 points and tied his career best with 13 rebounds on Tuesday against North Texas.
Junior Acie Law adds 15.6 points and has scored in double figures in all five games.