Texas A&M
16-5, 2-4
Texas Tech
11-9, 1-4
Aggies Outgun Red Raiders, 79-70
Jan 28, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2009
Post Game Audio [mp3]:
Head Coach Turgeon
Players Roland & Holmes
Texas Tech Head Coach Knight
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- B.J. Holmes had six 3-pointers and finished with 24 points, both career-highs, to lead Texas A&M to a 79-70 win over Texas Tech on Wednesday night.
The win broke a three-game losing streak for the Aggies.
The sophomore didn't miss from long-range until his seventh attempt. He hit five 3s in the first half, including three in just more than a minute. His sixth one gave Texas A&M a lead after the Red Raiders' had tied it with about 13 minutes left.
The Aggies (16-5, 2-4 Big 12 Conference) didn't trail after that and led by four before Derrick Roland's 3-pointer stretched A&M's lead to 71-64 with just more than three minutes remaining.
Texas Tech (11-9, 1-4) was led by Robert Lewandowski and John Roberson, who scored 20 points each.
POSTGAME QUOTES & NOTES
TEXAS A&M JUNIOR GUARD Derrick Roland's
"This win was big. There was a losing streak we went on last year too, and it was really hard to get that first win to get back going. We struggled at first but we got it going and it felt good to get this win."
"Everyone knows I really don't care about scoring, but my teammates have told me I need to be more aggressive, and if the guys really want me to step up on the offensive end that's what I'll do."
TEXAS A&M SOPHOMORE GUARD B.J. Holmes
"I was just trying to help my team. We were down. I was just trying to help my team get back into the game and I think I was able to do that. I was just happy to get this win. I like to see the crowd get into it. They played a big role in this game. When you go down and score like that (three times in a row), that gives you confidence on the defensive end to go down and get a stop. I think it gave our team a little boost."
"Coach just told me to go out and play with energy, and that's what I did. I was more worried about the defensive end. The shots just came to me. To tell you the truth, two of them felt like they were way off but they hit nothing but the bottom. It's easy when your teammates put you in position. Derrick Roland's found me about four times wide open, so it's not hard when they can do that."
"It seems like forever since we've played at home. After that three-game losing streak, no one got down. Everyone had a good attitude and I think that helped our confidence a lot. I think that will give us momentum as we go down the stretch in the Big 12."
TEXAS A&M COACH Mark Turgeon
"It just feels good to score more points than other team...it's been a while. I thought Tech was great. After the slow start, I thought our kids were really good the rest of the game. We did what we had to do to win. We made our free throws late, although we didn't make a lot early. I thought our execution was great, and I thought our running game was better. We did a really good job on (Alan) Voskuil and (John) Roberson, even though they scored points. We made them work and they made tough ones. All in all, I'm really proud of our players. That was a good win. The crowd, in particular the student body, was fantastic."
"It was a great win because I thought Tech played at a really high level. It wasn't easy, but this was a big one for us. We played well tonight and with a lot of energy. I do think we're getting better. Our confidence should be high going into Saturday plus they (Oklahoma State) beat us pretty good (earlier in the year). We have to adjust and hopefully play better."
(on the play of BJ Holmes off the bench) "Yeah, that was big. We needed it. They were making everything. I thought his free throws (in the second half) were huge because we were struggling. A lot of guys played well. BD (Derrick Roland's) had his best game in a while. (Donald) Sloan's energy was good. (David) Loubeau had the best game of his young career. Dash (Harris) was really good. (Nate) Walkup only played three min but I thought those three minutes changed the game."
(on the pace in the second half and bringing in a smaller lineup) "We weren't great defensively in the first half, and their offense was fantastic. Both teams looked tired at the start of the second half, but they were making more plays than we were. We wanted to bring some energy in there. That was a small lineup for us, but we went with it and tried to run. I thought we were really wearing them down then the game got too slow. We made some silly fouls and they got back in the game."
(on David Loubeau) "He needs playing time. And when he plays well, he plays more. He played well. It's definitely going to help his confidence. I liked his rebounding. He can play, we all know that. It just will take the light coming on and getting used to being out there. There are a lot of games left and hopefully this starts a great stretch run for him."
(on Derrick Roland's) "D-Ro's really shot the ball well the last four games. He's playing with more confidence. I thought he got himself going on the break. And then they were doubling down on us, and (that means) our guards have to make plays. For the most part we made good decisions tonight. And for the most part we did a good job protecting the basketball."
TEXAS TECH COACH PAT KNIGHT
"Both teams shot well in the first half and I think we both tried to slow it down in the second half. John Roberson got really tired, and I think it's hard for us to score without that other shooter out there. Offensive wasn't really our problem though. We were really concentrating on Carter to start the game but we were forced to change our game plan when B.J. Holmes starting hitting his shots. I like what our starters did tonight but we need more support from our bench. Other than a win, I couldn't ask for a better effort from our guys. There are games when we are going to get out rebounded and I figured this was going to be one of those nights. They have a strong inside presence with Davis and Elonu which forced us to change our line-up. I wasn't expecting such an inside presence from them."
AGGIE NOTES:
*Sophomore guard B.J. Holmes scored a career-high 24 points, making a career-best 6-of-7 three-pointers. Holmes previous highs were 19 points at Oklahoma State and 4 three-pointers against three opponents, most recently Oklahoma State.
*Holmes has made a three-point field goal in 19 straight games, the third longest streak in school history.
*Junior guard Derrick Roland's scored 11 points, his second-best output of the year (12 vs, UNC Wilmington) and tying for the fifth-best of his career. He also scored 11 last season against Texas Tech at Reed Arena.
*Freshman forward David Loubeau scored 11 points with 8 rebounds, his second best game in both categories. He scored 12 earlier this season against Kent State and has 9 rebounds against Tulsa. Loubeau also added a career-high 2 blocks tonight.
*Bryan Davis scored 13 points with 8 rebounds. The last time he had a better rebounding game was when he had 10 against Rice on Dec. 31 in Houston.
*The Aggies had a +11 (40-29) rebounding margin, its best in Big 12 play this season.
*A&M's 16 assists were its most since it had 16 vs. McNeese State on Jan. 3. The last time the Aggies had more was when they had 21 against Kent State on Nov. 29 at the South Padre Island Invitational.
*Tech's John Roberson scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting (4-of-6 three-pointers) in the first half, but scored just 2 points on 2-of-10 shooting (0-of-5 three-pointers) in the second half.
