Texas A&M
KANSAS STATE
Texas A&M 69, Kansas State 65
Jan 06, 2007 | Men's Basketball
January 06, 2007
Acie Law scored 18 points, including two late free throws, to lead No. 11 Texas A&M to a 69-65 win over Kansas State in the teams' Big 12 opener on Saturday night.
Texas A&M (13-2) led 66-63 before Akeem Wright drove through the lane for a layup that made it 66-65 with 7 seconds remaining. Law hit both free throws to stretch the lead to three points.
He was able to make up for missing two other free throws with 19 seconds remaining.
The win was the Aggies sixth straight overall and their 17th in a row at home.
Wright cut A&M's lead to 64-63 with a jumper with 1:14 remaining. That time, A&M's Dominique Kirk hit two free throws to make it 66-63.
Texas A&M took the lead for good when Josh Carter hit a 3-pointer with 3:57 left that put the Aggies ahead 62-61. He grabbed a rebound and made a layup on A&M's next possession to stretch the Aggies lead to 64-61.
Wright led Kansas State (10-5) with 18 points and eight rebounds.
Postgame Notes
*A&M's 13-2 start is its best since 1978-79, when it also started the season 13-2.
*A win at Baylor on Tuesday would make A&M 14-2 for the first time since a 16-2 start in 1959-60.
*A&M has won seven straight regular-season Big 12 games.
*A&M has won 17 straight home games.
*A&M has won six straight Big 12 home games.
*KSU's 65 points tied a season-high for an A&M opponent (UCLA also had 65).
*A&M and Michigan State are the only teams in the country that have not allowed an opponent to score more than 65 points.
*A&M is 5-1 against Kansas State in games played in College Station, with a 4-1 mark at Reed Arena.
*A&M has won three straight against KSU at Reed Arena.
*A&M out-rebounded KSU, 37-26. The Aggies have out-rebouned seven straight opponents and 12 of the last 13.
*A&M had 16 turnovers, its most since it had a season-high 20 at UCLA.
*KSU's 11 turnovers tied for the fewest this season by an A&M opponent (Winthrop also had 11).
*Marlon Pompey scored 6 points and tied his season high with 6 rebounds (Auburn).
*A&M made a season-high 22 free throws and tied its season high with 26 attempts (Prairie View A&M).
*A&M also tied its season high by making .846 from the free throw line (11-of-13 vs. Winthrop).
*KSU managed just 7 offensive rebounds, tying for the second fewest by an A&M opponent this year (Winthrop had 5 and Pacific had 7).
Postgame Quotes
Kansas State Head Coach Bob Huggins: Texas A&M was very physical, they were the most physical post guys that I have played in a long time. Coach Gillispie does a great job with them. (When asked about Akeem Wright) I thought Akeem played well. He does everything he can to win and does what we ask him to. They put the scoreboard up there for a reason, so that there are winners and losers. You don't get any style points. Billy (Gillispie) is a good guy, I've known him for a long time and I have a lot of respect for him. They are a heck of a basketball team and very well coached. They have seniors that are really good. Acie (Law) made some big shots tonight. They made a lot of big plays as a team and that's why they are the No. 11 team in the nation. If we made plays like that we may be No. 11 in the nation.
Texas A&M Junior Joseph Jones: They came out playing very hard and physical and we tried to do the same. We were very fortunate to get the win. It's always frustrating when your shots don't fall but you just have to keep playing hard.
Texas A&M Senior Acie Law: It was a battle. We knew coming in that they were good. We didn't play our best. It was an ugly win and we we're fortunate to get it. They were very physical and tough. We did a poor job of taking care of the ball, but we were able to settle down in the second half. (When asked about crucial free throws.) I just wanted to knock them down. I should have made the first two, but coach and everyone told me to forget about them. The second time I made sure to go get the ball so I could redeem myself. It's always good to get a win in the Big 12, every game is a battle. You always want to win at home because any road game is very difficult.
Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Gillispie: That was an awfully good win. It wasn't pretty but anytime you win in the Big 12 it's big. We didn't play our best but sometimes you just have to be thankful to win those. They attacked us defensively and exposed how soft we take care of the ball. Josh (Carter) made a nice drive and basket and his four point play was huge. We were kind of sinking and that was really big for us. (When asked about Kansas State's long inbound pass at the end of the game.) We run the same thing, so we thought we had a pretty good chance to defend it. Josh (Carter) and Dominique (Kirk) rebounded very well, Acie (Law) needs to rebound better but we already ask him to do so much. We shot free throws really well and I hope we continue with that. We got rebounds at key times and got an ugly win. If I would have known that we were going to play like we did, I would have thought that we would have lost by about 15 points. (Kansas State) is really good and we were fortunate to win.
