Texas A&M
2-0
SFA
1-1
Aggies Outlast Lumberjacks, 55-48
Nov 18, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Texas A&M's Bryan Davis scored 16 points and had a key block as Texas A&M avoided an upset with a 55-48 victory over Stephen F. Austin Tuesday night.
The Aggies led 44-42 with 4:41 remaining when Stephen F. Austin's Matt Kingsley appeared to have an easy basket inside, but Davis blocked the shot.
Nathan Walkup helped seal the victory with a 17-foot jump shot from the left corner as the shot clock expired with 1:09 remaining, lifting the Aggies (2-0) to a 48-42 lead.
Stephen F. Austin (1-1) and the Aggies were tied 29-29 at the half.
Davis and Donald Sloan each scored 16 to lead Texas A&M. Josh Alexander scored 21 for the Lumberjacks.
A&M overcame a poor shooting night from Josh Carter, who finished 1 of 6 from the field after scoring 23 points in the Aggies season-opening victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
POSTGAME NOTES
*SFA was 0-of-13 from the field from inside the three-point line in the second half. They were just 4-of-26 inside thre three-point line for the game. SFA's 6-foot-9 Matt Kingsley was the only Lumberjack to make a shot inside three-point range, finishing 4-of-16 from the field.
*Sophomore Nate Walkup scored 7 points with a career-high 11 rebounds. His previous high was 5 last season against Rice.
*Junior Bryan Davis scored 16 points, tying his career-best for a regulation game. He had a career-best 30 points in the five overtime game against Baylor last season. Davis also added 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal.
*Junior Donald Sloan scored a season-high 16 points, his most since he had 17 in the win at Baylor late last season. Sloan added 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
*A&M has won 48 straight regular-season non-conference home games.
*Mark Turgeon is 27-11 at A&M, the best coahcing start in school history.
*A&M's 69 home wins in the last five seasons are the second most in the nation in that time frame behind Memphis's 75.
*Josh Carter's 9 points give him 1,130 in his career, moving him into 23rd on the A&M chart. He passed Joe Wilbert (1993-95), who had 1,123. Lynn Suber (1988-91) is 22nd at 1,133.
*SFA made just .298 from the field. UALR made just .321 against the Aggies in the season opener.
POSTGAME QUOTES
SFA Head Coach Danny Kaspar:
"I give credit to Texas A&M for good defense, but I felt like we really hurt ourselves. Our guys gave a great effort, but it just wasn't enough. They shut some our key players down, and we didn't have anybody that would step up and make the plays."
SFA Guard Josh Alexander:
"We had guys that were having off games, but it will be there. We will start producing. They just really locked down on us and kept us on our toes and made us make tough shots."
Texas A&M Coach Turgeon:
"If you like defense, that was a heck of a game. I didn't think were ready for this kind of game this early in the season. They are a very good team. They had 26 wins last season and they will have that many, if not more, this season. They played us tough, but we played hard and came out with the win. I had a lot of kids grow up tonight. We didn't start out like we would like, but we came out in the second half and our guys made stop after stop. I am very disappointed in our offense. I think we have the ability to score but we didn't execute worth a flip. We had a ridiculous number of turnovers. I think we are team that can have 10 or less turnovers a game. (David) Loubeau and Nate (Walkup) gave us great minutes at the four tonight. This was a heck of a win for us. This is a good team beat this early in the season. I wish we didn't have to play them, but we did and we got the W."
Texas A&M Forward Brian Davis:
"Last year, we worked hard on free throws. We have worked hard on them this year and it is paying off. Coach knows that any five players on the court are going to make their free throws and that is going to help us win games."
Texas A&M Guard Donald Sloan:
"We played a pretty good team and they kept it close throughout the game. It is a long season and things will continue to progress. Shots weren't falling, but when we are not scoring we know we have the defense to keep us in it. It is great to have guys here that are coming off the bench and making big plays for us."
Texas A&M Guard/Forward Nate Walkup:
"Coach has been preaching rebounds to us for two years now. I have worked hard to get the minutes on the floor. Now I just need to stay hungry so I can keep helping this team win."
