Texas A&M
15-2, 1-1
Baylor
13-3, 1-1
Aggies Take Down No. 21 Bears, 84-73
Jan 14, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Texas A&M's Chinemelu Elonu is so confident now, he barely resembles the player he once was.
Elonu and Bryan Davis both scored 17 points and Elonu had a career-high 16 rebounds as the Aggies got their first Big 12 win, 84-73 over No. 21 Baylor on Wednesday night.
Donald Sloan said the change in Elonu, a fellow junior, since he arrived is impressive.
"If we can get that from him every night I think we'll be fine," Sloan said. "I think he's playing with a lot of confidence now. I remember a couple of years ago when he would freeze up at times. Not now."
Elonu said he's been helped by the support of his teammates.
"My teammates mean everything to me," he said. "My confidence is sky high right now."
The last time these teams met in College Station, it took five overtimes for Baylor to get a 116-110 victory in the longest game in Big 12 history.
This time the outcome was decided by halftime.
Texas A&M (15-2, 1-1) led by 11 points after the first half and 3-pointers by Derrick Roland and Sloan pushed the lead to 45-29 with about 18 minutes left.
The Bears (13-3, 1-1) made a late run to cut the lead to six points with about 1 1/2 minutes left, but A&M then made 10 free throws to secure the win.
Tweety Carter had 16 points for Baylor, while LaceDarius Dunn added 14.
Texas A&M took advantage of 11 turnovers by Baylor to score 18 points.
"I'll have to go back and look at film and see what happened. Normally we do a better job causing turnovers and scoring off of them," Baylor coach Scott Drew said.
A&M has won 11 of its last 12 games and has taken eight of the last nine against the Bears.
The normally strong 3-point shooting Bears struggled in that area Wednesday, going 5-of-16. Dunn hit one in the fourth quarter to extend his streak of games with at least one to 21.
"We know they're a team that likes to shoot 3s and can make them," Sloan said. "So we really crowded the 3-point line."
The Aggies led by four points before going on a 9-2 run keyed by a 3-pointer by Sloan to take a 39-28 halftime lead. Elonu scored nine of Texas A&M's first 13 points and had 13 points and nine rebounds by halftime.
"Chin's just becoming a monster out there," A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. "He got tired and he wasn't as good the last 10 minutes he played as the first 20 minutes he played."
Turgeon has been most impressed by Elonu's offensive rebounding. He had 11 on Wednesday.
"He's really come a long way and really done a good job of coming along and improving his game," Drew said.
Sloan and Josh Carter both added 15 points for A&M.
POSTGAME QUOTES & NOTES
A&M SENIOR Josh Carter
(on the intensity) "I thought was great. Baylor brought fans and we had a lot fans there. The crowd got us going early. Both teams wanted to win so bad and we picked it up on the court. It was a good game."
(on the defensive intensity early) "I think it was due to scouting. We knew what plays were coming and I guess they knew what we would run. There may have been some nerves too. It was a big game for both teams and I think we had to get it going."
A&M JUNIOR Donald Sloan
(on the lift Junior Elonu gave the team in the first half) "We needed it. He's been playing well for past the past six or seven games. What did he have, 17 (points) and 16 (rebounds)? If we can get that from him every night, we'll be fine. He's playing with a lot of confidence right now and that's good. I'm happy for him and happy for our team too."
(on the defensive intensity) "Coach said we couldn't keep trading buckets with them. That's what they like to do. We are more a defensive-minded team. In order for us to come up with the win we have to get stops eventually. Our guys really stepped up tonight and played well. That was a big boost for us. We ended up getting the stops we needed at the right time."
(on slowing down Baylor's 3-point game) "We know they are a team that likes to shoot threes. We emphasized crowding the three-point line. If they were going to shoot, we were going to make them shoot them deep. Tonight I guess they wanted to play a little closer to the basket. I thought the scout team was great for us and we did what we're supposed to do tonight."
(how big the win was) "Everyone knew it would be a big game. The fans were going to be into it, the bench, the coaches. The difference between that game (Oklahoma State) and this game was our ability to make shots. I don't think we were able to hit anything up in Stillwater. Tonight they seemed to fall for us."
BAYLOR JUNIOR TWEETY CARTER
(on the play of Elonu and the A&M bigs) "Their bigs came out ready to play. It's tough when they're getting second and third chances. That'll hurt any team, it doesn't matter who it is. You can't win like that. You have to rebound and you have to do a better job defensively."
BAYLOR SENIOR CURTIS JERRELLS
(on the offense picking it up in the second half) "We did but just a little bit. We made a run but we were trading baskets. So it wasn't good enough."
(on the developing rivalry) "It's big, between us, them and Texas. You want to be the best in your state, and there isn't room for all of us at the top. So it brings out the best in everyone."
BAYLOR COACH SCOTT DREW
"First of all, hats off to A&M. I thought they really competed and got after it on the glass in the first half. (Junior) Elonu has come a long way in improving his game. From a coaching standpoint, when you are getting out-rebounded like that in first half and you don't get to loose balls, that's dishartening. For some reason we didn't match their intensity for the first 20 minutes. Credit A&M for playing an outstanding game and making the shots as well."
(on the second half) "We didn't contest as many shots as we would have liked to in the first half. I thought our first-shot defense was good, but we just couldn't get the rebounds. In the second half they were making shots and getting opportunities, and some of it was because we were pressing and trying to create tempo."
(on A&M's late first-half run) "Normally we're good at closing halves. We weren't tonight. You want to go in the locker room with the momentum and the last five minutes are important. They seized that."
A&M COACH Mark Turgeon
"Obviously, when you win, it's a lot of fun. Tonight was a lot of fun. There was energy in the building. It kind of made it a great atmosphere from the very beginning. I thought both teams played at a high level really the whole game. Baylor's so scary, because they have so many good players that can make plays. You never feel like the game is in hand. We were intense. It's just a really good win for our program, especially this early in the year and with what's coming up for us. It doesn't get any easier."
(on the crowd) "For us to be the program that everyone wants us to be, you have to have a home crowd like that. There's no question the crowd made a difference in tonight's game. I don't want to underestimate our fans. They are so important to us. If we want to make a run and have a chance to have a great season, we need to fill this place up and see where that takes us. I was really proud of people tonight, to show up and cheer way they did."
(on the team's execution) "Defensively we had a good game plan. Execution-wise, that's the best we have done all season. We have worked so hard at it. Tonight we played probably as well as we have played since LSU, maybe the best we've played all year. I think the energy in the building had a lot to do with it."
(on the intensity of the night and the rivalry) "Well, that was two really good teams. They had a lot of energy. I thought the players did a great job of keeping things under control and I thought the refs did a good job. Our fans had a lot of class tonight too. I don't want to make more of it than it is, though. It's college basketball. That's the way it should be. It was a lot of fun. It's going to be more intense when you have more people in the building. Baylor's got a really good team. That was a good win for us."
(on Elonu gaining confidence) "Chin's becoming a monster out there. He plays hard. I keep saying this...he's a relentless offensive rebounder. But he's just playing with so much more intelligence. That's the smartest game we've played all season. From the neck up, that's the best game we've played all year. Chin has a ton of confidence and he's playing smarter. He goes and tries to get every rebound."
A&M JUNIOR Chinemelu Elonu
"My teammates were looking for me, and I just tried to get every rebound I could. I knew they were going little and we were pretty big, so I tried to get every rebound I can. I'm playing with a lot (of confidence). I'm excited to be starting in the Big 12. We didn't play too well the first game, so we needed to come to this game and win against a good Baylor team. My confidence is sky high right now."
(on going into the stands after to thank the students) "That was pretty nice. That's the first time we've done something like that. They were all giving us high fives. That was pretty cool."
(on his teammates having confidence in him) "My teammates mean everything to me. Hearing all the inspiration coming from them and the coaches means a lot. I'm just taking all that in and trying to give them my all out there."
A&M Notes:
*Chinemelu Elonu scored 17 points with a career-high 16 rebounds, his third straight double-double and his sixth of the year. It was the most rebounds by an Aggie since Andy Slocum had 18 against Texas 2004.
*A&M has five players score in double figures for the second time this season (Kent State).
*Bryan Davis scored 17 points, one shy of his career high (18 vs. Rice on 12/31).
*Derrick Roland scored 10 points and handed out a season-high 4 assists. It was his third double figure scoring game of the year.
*A&M scored a season-high 44 points in the paint. The Aggies have scored at least 20 points in the paint in every game this season.
*A&M is 9-0 this season when scoring at least 70 points.
*Mark Turgeon is 40-13 at A&M, the best start in school history and the second-best in Big 12 history (Kansas' Bill Self was 43-10 in 2003-05).
*A&M is 11-0 at home this season and has won 17 of its last 22 Big 12 home games.
*Turgeon's A&M teams are 30-3 when they shoot at least 45 percent from the field. Turgeon's teams are 26-2 when they score at least 70 points.
*Donald Sloan's 15 points were his most since he had a career-high 21 vs. Florida A&M on 12/15.
*A&M has won three straight Big 12 home openers. The Aggies are 4-1 in conference home openers in the last five seasons.
*A&M is now 8-3 against Baylor at Reed Arena.
