Texas A&M
IOWA STATE
Aggies Storm Past Iowa State, 75-59
Feb 22, 2005 | Men's Basketball
February 22, 2005
Antoine Wright scored 21 points, Joseph Jones added 17 and Texas A&M went on a 17-0 run in the second half to end Iowa State's seven-game winning streak 75-59 on Tuesday night.
Wright started the decisive spurt with a layup and Jones ended it with a putback, turning a close game into an improbable rout for the resurgent Aggies (17-7, 6-7 Big 12).
Led by first-year coach Billy Gillispie, Texas A&M has now tied San Diego for the nation's biggest turnaround with a 10-game improvement from last season.
Coming off an impressive overtime win at then-No. 2 Kansas on Saturday, Iowa State's remarkable turnaround following a 0-5 start in the Big 12 came to an ugly end in College Station.
The Cyclones (15-9, 7-6) went more than 13 minutes without a basket during one miserable stretch in the second half and finished the game by shooting 28 percent -- easily their worst performance of the season.
Curtis Stinson led Iowa State with 15 points. Will Blalock and Jared Homan each scored 14.
The Aggies had little trouble solving Iowa State's "attack" zone, opening a huge lead even though starting point guard Acie Law missed much of the second half with foul trouble. Texas A&M shot 50 percent against the Big 12's top defense, including 7-of-16 from 3-point range, and committed only 13 turnovers.
Stinson scored on a layup with 15:29 left in the second half, pulling Iowa State within 34-33. Little else went right for the Cyclones from that point.
Wright followed with a layup of his own, Law scored on the next possession, Jones hit two free throws and Dominique Kirk hit a 3 to give A&M a 10-point lead.
Wright punctuated the run by leaping high over two defenders to rebound his own miss and called a timeout as he tumbled to the court. He finished off the possession with a thunderous one-handed dunk that gave A&M a 49-33 lead.
His defense was also key against Iowa State's floor leader and top scorer.
Stinson, who scored 29 points in the win over Kansas, had a rough night against the 6-foot-7 Wright. He finished with 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting, was called for a technical in the second half and fouled out with more than five minutes remaining in the game.
Homan, a senior, was also completely frustrated by the Aggies' freshman big man, 6-9, 245-pound Jones.
After Jones completed a three-point play early in the second half, Homan turned around and jawed at the freshman before teammates stepped in to push him away.
As an indication of the Aggies' surprising dominance under the basket, Texas A&M outscored Iowa State 34-18 in the paint and pulled down 12 offensive rebounds.
POSTGAME NOTES AND QUOTES
Iowa State Freshman Tasheed Carr:
"We weren't frustrated. Their intensity was high and we didn't match it, but we played hard and continued to battle. We're going to bounce back from this and continue to play hard. They scouted us very well. Our offense couldn't get in a rhythm. They were tough defensively and they played the better game. Their defense was great. They took away the best parts of our game. A loss is a loss, whether it's by one point or 20 points. You never want to lose, but we're going to work hard and bounce back."
Iowa State Head Coach Wayne Morgan:
"I thought Texas A&M played a very good game tonight. The kids played hard and they executed well. In the second half, in particular, they made plays when they needed to make plays. There were times when we needed to get stops and we didn't get stops. Joseph Jones is a very, very good freshman. He made a difference inside with his strength. We missed a lot of shots. Let's give Texas A&M credit. We didn't play very well, but they played very well. I think Coach Gillispie is doing a very good job with this program. We played here two years ago and I think the attendance was 1,500. So obviously he has raised the attention for basketball here. It's nice for his team to be having games at this point in the season that mean something."
Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Gillispie:
"That was a hard one. They have a good team. They're quick and they're strong. That was a great win for us. The biggest key was having Joe in the game. I though we did a great job of executing our zone offense in the second half. We played inside out. We got it in there and Joe scored. If he didn't score, he forced the double team and was able to fan it out and we made some shots. That's the way you're supposed to play against the zone. It was fun to watch since our team won. The reason we were in foul trouble is we weren't moving our feet as well as we needed to. We were reaching a little bit. Joe didn't play very well in the first half, but he came back and played extremely well in the second half. He's a competitor. All of them really played well. I thought our defense was pretty good all night long. They really competed hard, contested shots, and willed themselves to a win against a really good team."
Texas A&M Junior Antoine Wright:
"We've been playing pretty good lately. We've been making shots and we've been playing inside out. That's what coach wants to do. When you play inside out, it allows the defense to get sucked in and it gives you looks. I knew going into the half that I wasn't going to let us drift in the second half. I knew that I was going to go out and make hard cuts and get open looks. Our defense was great. We've been playing like that in practice. We contested a lot of shots and tried to rebound and it worked. Against the press we've just got to move the ball. A lot of what they do is called "action". They move a lot but they don't really go anywhere. So, you have to continue to be aggressive. Once the ball gets inside of them, they all turn and look. Then, you just try and find open spots in the zone. You've got to stay composed. They want you to get rattled and turn the ball over and we had a stretch when we turned the ball over right before the half. At half, coach told us to be smart and get the ball moving. If you get the ball moving, the zone has to move. We can care less about a streak. We can care less about who you just beat. If teams want to come in here thinking about a streak, thinking they're going to hit shots and it's all going to come together in the end, this is what happens. We're in the Big 12 and its tough out here."
Texas A&M Freshman Joseph Jones:
"The first half was frustrating. I was cheering the team on, but I knew I had to be in there helping my team out. But I got the two early fouls so there was nothing I could do. In the second half,I came in just trying to help my team out and do more than I did in the first half."
Texas A&M Freshman Dominique Kirk:
"I knew when Acie and Joe were out of the game we had to step up and make shots. That's what I'm trying to do -- make shots and step up."
A&M NOTES:
*A&M's 10-win improvement over last year (7-21) matches San Diego for the most improved team in the country to this point. San Diego is 14-13 after going 4-24 last year.
*A&M has won six Big 12 games, tying for the most in nine years of Big 12 play. The 2002-03 team finished 6-10.
*A&M is 17-7, its best record after 24 games since an identical start in 1993-94.
*Billy Gillispie's 17 wins tie for the second most by a first-year coach in A&M history with John Floyd (17-12 in 1950-51). Gillispie needs one more to tie the record of 18-7 set by Shelby Metcalf in 1963-64.
*A&M is 15-2 at home, the most home wins in school history by three games.
*A&M has won back-to-back Big 12 games for the first time since 2001-02, when the Aggies beat Baylor at home (63-60) and Texas in Austin (80-74).
*The last time A&M had back-to-back double digit wins in conference play was in 1995 in the old Southwest Conference when they beat SMU in Dallas (79-60) and Baylor in College Station (80-70).
*Iowa State shot a season-low 28.6 percent, the fourth worst by an A&M opponent this season and the 12th worst in school history. Four of the 12 worst shooting games by an opponent in A&M annals have been this year. No other team in school history has held more than two opponents under 30 percent in a season.
*A&M shot 50.0 percent from the field. The Aggies have shot 44.9 percent or better in 17 games, including eight Big 12 games. last year, A&M made 45 percent or better just six times.
*A&M has held 13 opponents under 40 percent from the field this season after holding just six opponents under 40 percent last season.
*A&M is 12-0 when its opponent scores 64 or fewer points.
*A&M is 16-1 when its opponent makes 45 percent or less from the field.
*A&M is 11-0 when Bobby Leach has at least four assists.
*Antoine Wright scored 21 points with seven rebounds, his eighth 20-point game of the year. Wright has averaged 26.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in the last two games. He moves into 14th on A&M's career scoring list with 1,198 points and needs 74 to move into the top 10.
*Freshman Joseph Jones scored 17 points with 7 rebounds, all but two points coming in the second half. Jones had averaged 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in the last two games.
*Freshman Dominique Kirk scored 15 points, his first Big 12 games in double figures, and tied his career-high with seven rebounds.
