February 02, 2008
Joseph Jones scored 18 points to lead No. 23 Texas A&M to a 60-52 win in a defensive battle with Oklahoma on Saturday.
The Aggies (18-4, 4-3 Big 12) led by one when Donald Sloan got a steal and cut through the lane for a layup that made it 54-51 with just less than 2 minutes remaining. Two free throws by Sloan about a minute earlier had given the Aggies the lead.
It was the third straight win for Texas A&M and breaks a three game winning streak for Oklahoma (15-6, 3-3).
Longar Longar made the first of two free throws after Sloan's layup to cut the lead to 54-52, but his second one fell short.
A scary moment came with less than a minute to go when Jones and Blake Griffin collided mid-air trying to catch an inbound pass. Both crashed to the court, but got up quickly and appeared to be unhurt.
Jones made the first of his free throws from that foul to stretch A&M's lead to 55-52 with 56 seconds left. He got the rebound on his missed shot and Bryan Davis finished with a 3-point play that brought the crowd to its feet and made it 58-52, putting the game out of reach.
Longar fouled out on the play.
Texas A&M didn't make a basket for more than six minutes in the second half. Good free throw shooting and the fact that Oklahoma made just three shots during that span allowed the Aggies to keep it close. The scoring drought ended with a 3-pointer by Dominique Kirk that made it 50-49 with 3:36 left.
A&M shot 35 percent for the game.
David Godbold led the Sooners with a career-high 22 points, including six 3-pointers.
The Aggies led by four points before Godbold keyed a 9-2 run that put Oklahoma ahead 42-39 midway through the second half. Texas A&M quickly tied it back up with a layup by Josh Carter and a free throw by DeAndre Jordan.
The Sooners regained the lead in grand fashion when Griffin sailed through the lane and finished with the one-handed dunk that left the Aggies defense momentarily stunned and made it 44-42.
The Sooners were in foul trouble for most of this one with Longar getting his fourth early in the second half and Taylor Griffin fouling out with about 8 1/2 minutes left.
The Aggies went on a 10-2 run, capped by a 3-point play by Davis, to overcome a six-point halftime deficit and take a 33-31 lead with about 16:30 left. Longar got his fourth foul on that play, sending the 6-foot-11 senior to the bench.
He wouldn't return until the final three minutes.
The Sooners tied it before Texas A&M scored four quick points to take a 37-33 lead with about 15 minutes to play.
The Aggies scored the first four points of the game and led until a jump shot by Godbold made it 12-11 with about eight minutes left in the first half. A free throw by Kirk tied it at 17 about three minutes later, but Oklahoma outscored the Aggies 12-6 in the last five minutes of the half to take a 29-23 lead.
Davis finished with 13 points and eight rebounds and Sloan had 10 points.
Coaches and staff from both teams wore tennis shoes instead of dress shoes as a show of support for the fight against cancer as part of the American Cancer Society's Coaches vs. Cancer national awareness weekend.
Oklahoma at Texas A&M Post-game Quotes & Notes
Texas A&M Associate Head Coach Scott Spinelli:
?It was a great win today. Obviously our guys were very resilient shooting 35% and beating a very good team. One of the things we were most proud about is when we were down we were able to come back, make some stops, and make some plays. We were very fortunate to beat this team today. Our identity all year has been defense. We thought our identity took precedence today in beating Oklahoma. We started out 1-3. To be able to come back and beat an Oklahoma State team on the road after losing a 5-overtime game, and then beat a top 10 team in Texas and then come back today it?â„¢s been a tough two weeks. As we all know the Big 12 is a very though league. Night in and night out it?â„¢s going to be a battle. After the Texas game we had an emotional high and had to respond today. These guys have such an unbelievable resiliency about them. There?â„¢s a toughness about them. I think our confidence was there today. We want to make sure we continue to stress our identity and that is a very good defensive team.
Texas A&M Senior Forward Joseph Jones:
?We just felt like defense had to carry us. Sometimes you don?â„¢t make shots. Sometimes they?â„¢re just not falling, but defense has to step up and take control of the game. Then when the shots start falling the defense has to stay consistent. You have to give your all to find some way to win. You just have to gut up and play, and you?â„¢ll come up with the victory. [keys to the game] It was great team defense. All our guys were alert and active. This is the Big 12. Every win is great. They?â„¢re a great team. They?â„¢ve won on the road against a lot of great teams. They beat West Virginia this year and they played Memphis to a close game. We knew they were going to play physical. We just had to match their physicality. [on the last three wins] It?â„¢s been great for us. I sensed our team was down after the three losses and we just needed sign of life. We got a little confidence back after the Oklahoma State game and everything started going our way. We just have to keep it up. We have to keep practicing hard everyday and stay in rhythm. I?â„¢ve been in a lot of close games. Once it starts getting tight I just start getting more aggressive. I feel like somebody has to take control of the game.?
Texas A&M Sophomore Forward Bryan Davis:
?You have to take what a team gives you. Their bigs were in trouble so we tried to get them out of there in the second half.
Oklahoma Head Coach Jeff Capel:
?I want to congratulate A&M. They made plays down the stretch and we didn?â„¢t. That?â„¢s why they won the basketball game. [on not winning the hustle plays] That?â„¢s very frustrating. That?â„¢s something we try to pride ourselves on. We had chances, but we were in serious foul trouble. It?â„¢s tough to win a game when free throws are 20-4 in the second half. That?â„¢s tough. We have to do a better job of playing without fouling. We?â„¢ve been a team that?â„¢s been getting to the line. I thought we were aggressive. We went inside. We just didn?â„¢t get to the line today like we have been. It was very disheartening. It?â„¢s tough when you play good defense for 30 seconds, then at the end you?â„¢re called for a foul. We had some careless turnovers trying to do too much. A&M is a very good team. Mark (Turgeon) has done a really good job here. They responded to some adversity they had in the early part of their conference season. They?â„¢re playing well now. They?â„¢re a good defensive team and those guys down low are big. Those guys all gave them really good, solid minutes. (on the A&M program) They?â„¢ve done a great job. Everyone involved; from the administration, the athletics department, the marketing team, coaches, Billy (Gillispie) and his staff, Mark (Turgeon) and his staff, and just as important the players. This is a program that was 0-16 a few years ago when (Acie) Law and those guys were freshmen. You look at how far they?â„¢ve come. You look at the environment at the games. It?â„¢s electric. These kids really deserve it. It?â„¢s really neat to see. It gives you hope that if you build it, they will come. I know that?â„¢s kind of corny. They?â„¢ve done a great job here. The students do a good job of being in the game and standing behind their team. It?â„¢s even greater that they came out and responded the last two games here after losing three straight. Sometimes when you have bandwagon people they jump off really quickly when you have losses like they had. These people here are with their team. They understand that your teams needs you even more when things aren?â„¢t going so well.?
Oklahoma Senior Guard David Godbold:
?We just couldn?â„¢t get those 50-50 balls. They were out hustling us to them and getting their hands on balls we couldn?â„¢t get our hands on. That?â„¢s something we have to focus on if we want to win those close games.?
Oklahoma Freshman Forward Blake Griffin:
?Give them credit. They played well. They played pretty well on defense; in the high post, low post, everywhere. They had a good gameplan and they obviously did what they worked on. They kept high pressure. They made sure to double the post every time because they knew that was our strength. They also tried to pressure our guards. That?â„¢s our gameplan too. They just did a better job today.?
A&M NOTES:
*A&M has beaten Oklahoma three straight times after OU won the previous 14 meetings.
*A&M has won 40 of its last 42 at home, including 15 of its last 17 Big 12 games. The Aggies are 15-1 at home this season.
*Today?â„¢s attendance of 13,158 was the fifth largest in A&M history.
*A&M?â„¢s 18-4 record under Mark Turgeon is the best by a first-year coach in A&M history.
*A&M had a season-high 9 steals.
*A&M had only one turnover (with 6 assists) in the second half.
*A&M had a 24-14 edge in points in the paint. The Aggies have had at least 20 points in the paint in all 18 wins.
*A&M had a 35-28 rebounding edge. The Aggies have out-rebounded their opponent in all 18 wins.
*A&M scored a season-low 4 bench points, all by DeAndre Jordan.
*A&M made 23-of-30 (.767) from the free throw line, its best percentage of the season when its had at least 15 attempts.
*A&M?â„¢s 3 three-point field goals were its fewest of the season.
*OU lost for the first time this season after leading at halftime (11-1).
*Joseph Jones scored a season-high 19 points with 6 rebounds, his 11th straight game in double figures. Jones also made his first three-pointer since the Florida A&M game on Dec. 29. Jones has made 20 in his career.
*Bryan Davis scored 13 points with a team-high 8 rebounds, the fourth time he?â„¢s led the team in rebounding this season.
*Dominique Kirk scored 9 points with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 0 turnovers.