Texas A&M
(#12) OKLAHOMA STATE
Texas A&M 67, Oklahoma State 49
Jan 20, 2007 | Men's Basketball
January 20, 2007
Acie Law had 16 points, Antanas Kavaliauskas scored 14 despite having to twice sit down with injuries, and No. 8 Texas A&M beat Oklahoma State (No. 14 ESPN/USA Today; No. 12 AP) 67-49 on Saturday night.
It is Texas A&M's first win over a ranked opponent this season and its ninth straight victory since losing to then top-10 teams LSU and UCLA in consecutive games in early December.
The Aggies, who never trailed, also got their 18th straight home win in front of a school-record crowd of 13,187, and it was their 11th Big 12 win in a row, also an A&M record.
Kavaliauskas was forced to the bench in the first half after he was hit hard in the face but he soon returned. Midway through the second half he crashed to the court after a violent collision with Oklahoma State's Marcus Dove and had to be helped off the court. That time he was back in a couple of minutes.
Texas A&M (16-2, 4-0 Big 12) led by as many as 15 in the first half and 10 at halftime but Oklahoma State went on a 9-2 run to open the second half and cut the lead to 40-37.
Oklahoma State (16-3, 2-2) wouldn't get any closer though as the Aggies tightened their stifling defense and added eight points while holding the Cowboys to just 2. They ended that run and regained their comfortable lead on a monster dunk by Joseph Jones that made it 48-39 with about 9 minutes left. Jones finished with 13 points.
Texas A&M went on a 10-0 run late in the game to stretch the lead 64-46.
The Aggies, who entered the game allowing the second-fewest points in the country, held Oklahoma State to its lowest score of the season. Texas A&M's defense often left the Cowboys frustrated and they shot just 33 percent.
After the Cowboys missed four shots in a row during one stretch in the second half, first-year coach Sean Sutton threw his hands in the air and turned away from the court as if he couldn't stand to watch any longer.
JamesOn Curry had 20 points and Mario Boggan added 11 for the Cowboys. Boggan got a technical foul with about 2 minutes left when he grabbed Kavaliauskas' jersey and wouldn't let go as he tried to run down the court.
Texas A&M is the only team undefeated in Big 12 play after Texas Tech's win over No. 5 Kansas 69-64 earlier Saturday.
Law scored 11 of his points in the second half after playing just 8 minutes in the first half after getting two early fouls.
Postgame Quotes & Notes
Oklahoma State Junior JamesOn Curry: "They are a well coached team and they play together out there on the court, they are a unit. We haven't won a good game on the road, that's going to define our whole season. We can win at home no doubt but we have to go on the road and do the same thing. This would have been a perfect opportunity. The thing about basketball is you get two or three chances a week so we have plenty of time to bounce back."
Oklahoma State Head Coach Sean Sutton: "There were two things we talked about coming into this game. Number one was getting off to a good start. When you go on the road against a good team in an atmosphere like this and you dig yourself a hole early, you're asking for problems. The same thing happened in Lawrence. We got down double figures and at that point you're playing uphill. The other thing that we talked about was taking care of the ball. We turned the ball over 21 times. Texas A&M is a very good team. I think, by far, they are the best defensive team we have played against. They did a really good job on Mario Boggan. We had some shots early but then we stopped going inside. We got ourselves back into position when it was 40-37. At that point, I felt like we had a pretty good chance. We then missed some free throws and I think we had three or four straight turnovers. I don't think we competed the last ten minutes. Against good teams you have to compete and fight for 40 minutes."
Texas A&M Senior Acie Law: "It feels good, Oklahoma State is a good team. To get a victory against them feels good. We have to put this one behind us because we have a very good Texas Tech team later this week. This is a huge victory for us and it means a lot to our team. Coach always says that shots aren't always going to fall, so we have to find other ways to win. I think we did a pretty good job defensively taking away Boggan. (JamesOn) Curry had a great game but I think we made it tough for him. All in all, we played pretty good team defense and that's the important thing. If we don't make shots and still played great defense we should be fine. The crowd has been great. One thing we talk about is protecting our house. You have to get it done at home."
Texas A&M Junior Joseph Jones: (On limiting Mario Boggan) "We just wanted to come in and limit his touches. We knew that he had been playing well and he had been on fire. We just tried our best to slow him down. I guess we did a good job. We got another conference win. You have to enjoy every conference win that you get."
Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Gillispie: "It was a really good win against a really good team. I thought both teams played really hard. It shows why they are a championship calliber team. We had a pretty good lead and they wouldn't bow out. That's Oklahoma State tradition, that's Sutton tradition. Coach Sean Sutton has done a fantastic job with their team. Everybody talks about how good they are offensively but they are really good defensively. They are good in every phase. We are fortunate to get a win against a really good team. Joe (Jones) did a good job. Antanas (Kavaliauskas) did a good job even though Joe only had two attempts in the first half. I thought our other guys did a really good job of moving the ball and getting the ball inside. It was a physical game, I think that really takes its toll when you are trying to shoot the ball."
A&M NOTES:
*A&M has won 9 straight games.
*A&M has won 11 straight Big 12 games, its longest conference winning streak since it won 11 straight in 1979 and 1980.
*A&M has won 18 straight home games, the second longest streak in school history (Record: 30 from 1960-63).
*A&M has won 7 straight Big 12 home games.
*A&M's 16-2 start is its best since it started the 1959-60 season with a 16-2 mark. The only time A&M has had a better record after 18 games was in 1919-20, when the team finished with a perfect 19-0 mark.
*A&M has won two straight against OSU. The last time A&M beat OSU in consecutive seasons was in 1923 and 1924.
*Tonight's attendance of 13,187 was a school record, breaking the previous mark of 13,176 set last year against Texas. It was the eighth sellout at Reed Arena since the facility opened, but the sixth in Billy Gillispie's three seasons as head coach.
*A&M's 4-0 conference start is its best since the 1993-94 team began SWC play with a 7-0 mark.
*Josh Carter came into the game ranked second nationally in three-point accuracy (.54), but was 0-6 on three-pointers tonight. Carter did contribute a team-high 7 rebounds, tying his career-best set last year vs. Texas and earlier this month against Kansas State.
*Acie Law scored 16 points, which moved him into the top 10 on A&M's career scoring list (8th) with 1,342 points. He passed Todd Holloway (1,331 in 1983-87) and Antoine Wright (1,338 in 2002-05).
*A&M is 46-5 at home under Billy Gillispie, who is 62-6 in home games in his last four years as a head coach.
*A&M had a 29-23 reboounding edge tonight and has out-rebounded nine of its last 10 opponents.
*OSU came into the game ranked seventh nationall in field goal percentage (.500), but made only 33.3 percent tonight, its second worst of the season.
*A&M made a season-best 88.9 percent (24-27) from the free throw line.
*OSU's 21 turnovers were the most this season by an A&M opponent.
