Texas A&M
6-1
Arizona
5-2
Aggies Rally to Nip Arizona, 67-66
Dec 09, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2008
Dec. 6, 2008
Post Game Audio [mp3]:
Head Coach Turgeon
Players Holmes, Walkup, & Sloan
Arizona Head Coach Pennell
Arizona Players Budinger & Hill
COLLEGE STATION (AP) - Nathan Walkup scored a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to give Texas A&M a 67-66 win over Arizona on Friday night.
Arizona's Chase Budinger missed a fall-away jumper from the free-throw line as time ran down.
Walkup's winning shot was A&M's only lead of the game. The Aggies (6-1) trailed 40-29 at halftime and had been out-rebounded 20-5 at that point.
They clawed back into the contest with B.J. Holmes' team-high 14 points, including two key 3-pointers and two free throws down the stretch.
Arizona out-rebounded the Aggies 33-18, and made a blazing 58.3 percent from the field. The Aggies shot 47.1 percent and had 16 assists with only 4 turnovers.
Jordan Hill led the Wildcats (5-2) with 20 points and eight rebounds, both game-highs. Budinger had 15 points.
Donald Sloan added 13 points and 5 assists for A&M. Bryan Davis scored 10.
POSTGAME QUOTES & NOTES
Arizona Head Coach Russ Pennell
"I was really proud of my team for coming in and playing well against a quality opponent. Losing Nic Wise hurt us. We weren't able to able to play the packages that benefit us the most, but that is how the game is played, it's not an excuse. Texas A&M turned the pressure up in the second half. Coming in I wasn't sure what our team was about. I looked at the game as a measuring mark for our team, and I think we passed."
Arizona Forward Chase Budinger
"It hurt when we lost Nic Wise in the second half. They also went after it harder than we did late in the game. BJ Holmes hit big shots and killed us with them; it really took us off guard. It doesn't feel good to lose one like this."
Texas A&M Coach Mark Turgeon
"Arizona was tremendous tonight. They made shot after shot after shot. We kept battling and played line-ups that we hadn't practiced with. The only reason that we were able to win, was that we only had 4 turnovers. I thought this wasn't going to be our night. Things didn't seem to go our way for quite a while. We had a lot of guys with finals today so maybe that contributed to our slow start. Our guards were great tonight, but our bigs weren't worth a flip. We can't have our guards bailing us out like this every night. This was the best crowd I have seen since I have been here. There is absolutely no way we could've won without their energy. I wish we could have a crowd like this every game."
Texas A&M Guard Donald Sloan
"This game was all about competing. We play every game like it is to get in the NCAA Tournament. We knew we had to play harder in the second half. Coach knows that we know that and didn't really have to say anything at half time. This was a big win. They are known as a good team that always plays well. This is a good win for our program."
Texas A&M Guard B.J. Holmes
"My teammates were able to get the ball to me a few times. I took the shots and they went in."
Texas A&M Guard Nathan Walkup
"The play I scored on was a good play call. I actually thought it was going to be short, but it went in. It was nice to have to have the fans surround me like that after the game. All I did was play eight minutes and make one shot, so I don't want to steal the glory from all the other guys that contributed. This was a huge team effort, and I just happened to have the one that put us ahead."
NOTES: *The Aggies have won 51 straight regular-season non-conference home games since an 82-80 loss to A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 13, 2003.
*In the last five seasons, A&M has won 72 home games, the second most in the nation behind Memphis' 76 home victories.
*Mark Turgeon is 31-12 at A&M, tying Billy Gillispie (2004-06) for the second-best start by a coach in Big 12 history. Texas Tech's Bob Knight (2001-03) was 33-10 after 43 games.
*After going 1-of-9 from three-point range in the first three games, B.J. Holmes has made 11-of-20 in the last four contests. Holmes had scored in double figures in three of the last four games.
*The Aggies 26-of-31 *.839) from the free throw line in the last two games.
*The Aggies had a season-low 4 turnovers with 16 assists, a 4.0 ratio.
*Derrick Roland came off the bench to score 6 points with a season-high 6 rebounds.
*Donald Sloan scored 13 points with 5 assists and tied his career high with 3 steals. Sloan has handed out 29 assists with only 8 turnovers this season, a 3.6 ratio. Sloan has scored in double figures in three straight games.
*Bryan Davis scored 10 points, his second straight game in double figures and his fifth of the season.
*Tonight's attendance on 10,393 was the largest this season at Reed Arena.
