Texas A&M
23-8, 9-7
Missouri
25-6, 12-4
Texas A&M Makes it Six Straight on Senior Day, Overpowering No. 12 Missouri, 96-86
Mar 07, 2009 | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2009
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Post Game Audio [mp3]:
Head Coach Turgeon
Players Carter, Holmes, Sloan, & Davis
Missouri Head Coach Anderson
Missouri Players
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Texas A&M has been trying for weeks to show it deserves an NCAA tournament bid.
After winning their sixth straight, 96-86 over No. 15 Missouri on Saturday, the Aggies believe they've earned it.
"Who knows the things that are going through people's mind's, but I'm confident enough to say, `Yeah we got it,"' said Donald Sloan, who finished with 16 points.
The Aggies (23-8, 9-7 Big 12) built an early lead and were up by 26 points with about 16 minutes remaining. But Missouri (25-6, 12-4) went on two separate runs to whittle the lead. The second one was an 11-4 stretch that made it 81-71 with about 5 minutes left.
DeMarre Carroll cut the lead to seven points twice after that, but Sloan answered with a dunk on a fast break to push the lead to 90-81 with 32 seconds left.
The Aggies made six free throws in the final seconds to secure the win.
Carroll led Missouri with 18 points and Zaire Taylor added 17.
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"Our poise has gotten better during that stretch and our fight has been unbelievable. We've just had great fight and determination in us."
coach Mark Turgeon
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"A lot of teams would have folded, but we didn't," coach Mark Turgeon said. "Our poise has gotten better during that stretch and our fight has been unbelievable. We've just had great fight and determination in us."
Josh Carter and B.J. Holmes both had 13 points for the Aggies. All but two of Carter's points came in the second half after he injured his ankle and sat out for a span in the first half.
Carter said he was in a lot of pain in the first half, but that an injection in his ankle at halftime eased the discomfort.
"It definitely helped," he said.
The Aggies led 62-36 before Missouri went into desperation mode, shooting 3-pointers on almost every possession. They made four 3s to fuel a 20-7 run to get within 69-56 with about 10 minutes left.
A win would have given the Tigers a chance for a share of the Big 12 title for the first time in school history. Instead Missouri followed up a nearly flawless win over No. 4 Oklahoma with a sloppy and unenthusiastic first half on Saturday.
Taylor said he thinks the team tends to get complacent after big wins.
"There's contentment after any little success we have," he said. "It's been plaguing us the whole season. People are feeling good thinking, maybe things are supposed to be easy. We always learn a lesson from a loss, we've got to learn lessons from a win."
Missouri coach Mike Anderson said he's tried to get his team past that problem.
"We talked about that," he said. "I'm working on that. These guys are probably in a territory they've never been before."
The Tigers had nine turnovers in the first half to match their total against the Sooners, and Carroll, the team's leading scorer, had just two points at halftime.
"We just came out didn't play aggressive like we normally do," Carroll said. "We came out passive."
The Aggies scored nine straight points on 3-pointers to stretch their lead to 27-14 about midway through the first half. Missouri scored a basket before A&M went on a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 32-16.
Texas A&M led 51-29 at halftime.
"I thought they were a hungry team and it showed in the first half," Anderson said.
Former President George H.W. Bush took a break from the hospital where his wife Barbara is recovering from heart surgery to attend the game. Bush, whose presidential library is on the A&M campus, got a hearty welcome when he was introduced and another cheer came when the public address announcer asked the crowd to wish Barbara a speedy recovery.
The former first lady was moved from an intensive care unit to a private room on Saturday after Wednesday's surgery to replace her aortic valve.
POSTGAME QUOTES AND NOTES
Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon
"That was a lot of fun. We had a great atmosphere. We played really well, especially on offense in both halves. To say I am proud of my guys would be an understatement. Coming from Baylor to do what these guys have done is really impressive. Since Baylor, we have gotten better in many areas of our game. We have gotten better on defense, rebounding, execution and overall poise. Our fight has been better and unbelievable since Baylor. We have great determination. Missouri is a good team. I told their coach for our fans to storm the court like that shows how good of a team they are. I think we earned an NCAA bid today. It depends on what the selection committee does but they always make good choices. We came in not really thinking about the tournament because I didn't want that kind of pressure on us. Big 12 really tried to get us this year but they underestimated our fight. A lot of teams would have folded in our situation but we didn't. We didn't quit. We may not be the prettiest at things, but we don't quit. We started cutting back practice after Baylor so that our guys would be fresh and that has really helped us out. I think we did a fantastic job against their press. I think we turned it over too much in the second half, but overall we did a great job."
Senior Guard/Forward Josh Carter
"Today was an emotional day. I told myself I wasn't going to cry but I cried before I even got out there. I never really felt worried throughout the game; I just knew that we had to stay aggressive to hold onto our lead. We haven't play well at times this year but we have always known we are a good team. We think we can beat anybody. The emotion of the crowd today was great; we really fed off of their energy."
Sophomore Guard BJ Holmes
"We came into the game off the bench and we knew we had to bring energy to the game. Josh is a good friend on and off the court and we are going to miss him."
Junior Guard Donald Sloan
"This game was intense from the tipoff. We came out and made things happen. We knew what kind of team they were. They try and speed you up and trap. Everything we have worked on helped today. We really worked on being aggressive. I think we got an NCAA bid today. We are just happy we got Josh a win on his senior day. We never gave up this season."
Junior Forward Bryan Davis
"We came out here to play for us and not think about the NCAA tournament."
Missouri Head Coach Mike Anderson
"Congratulations to A&M; they were the hungrier team today. They made big shots and plays. First half we dug ourselves in a big hole and it is really hard to play out of those. We had a chance to come back but A&M kept making plays to keep their cushion. Our kids never did give up; we fought back but just couldn't close it. Now we are going to focus on the Big 12 tournament. I think the first game is the most important because it sets the tone for your post season."
Senior Forward DeMarre Carroll
"I know my role is to come into the game and bring energy. I felt like I did that well today."
Sophomore Forward Justin Safford
"We didn't come out aggressive enough. They were really prepared for us and played aggressively the whole game. When you play our style of offense, you have to be aggressive. I don't think we really knew what we were coming into with this atmosphere. They have a great crowd."
Junior Guard Zaire Taylor
"We didn't come with it in the first half. They got up shooting 62%. I feel like as a team we are content after any kind of success. If we keep getting into foul trouble like we did today, we are going to have trouble winning games. They made some really great shots today."
A&M NOTES:
*A&M will be the No. 6 seed at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship next week in Oklahoma City. The Aggies will play Texas Tech at 8:30 on Wednesday.
*A&M went 16-2 at home this season, the fifth straight year the Aggies have had at least 16 home victories. A&M went 6-2 in Big 12 home games and has won 22 of its last 29 Big 12 games at Reed Arena. A&M is 50-6 at home over the last three years and is 83-12 at Reed in the last five seasons.
*Today's attendance of 13,007 was the largest of the season. The last time A&M had a bigger crowd was when a school-record 13,584 attended the Oklahoma State game last season. A&M averaged 11,013 in Big 12 play this season.
*Senior Josh Carter played in his 132nd career game today, tying the school record set by Dominique Kirk (2004-08). It was Carter's 101st career start.
*Carter is 97-35 at A&M, making him the winningest player in school history. Should A&M advance to the NCAA Tournament, he would become the first Aggie to play in four NCAA Tournaments. A&M Coach Mark Turgeon was the first Kansas player to appear in four straight NCAAs (1984-87).
*Carter finished with 11 points, his 11th straight game in double figures. Carter has made 19-of-30 (.633) three-pointers in the last five games.
*Carter needs three more rebounds to become the first A&M player to reach 1,500 points (1,531), 500 rebounds (497) and 200 assists (237) in a career. His 295 career three-pointers are the most in A&M history and fourth in Big 12 annals.
*A&M is 67-15 when Carter reached double figures in his career, including a 20-4 mark this year.
*Bryan Davis scored 12 points with 10 rebounds, his third double-double of the year and his first in Big 12 play.
*Donald Sloan's 16 points were his most since he had 17 at Texas on Jan. 24.
*Nathan Walkup scored a career-high 12 points. His previous best was 11 last year against Ohio State in the preseason NIT Championship game.
*Freshman Dash Harris tied his career high with 6 points and added 3 assists. A&M is 9-0 this season when Harris hands out at least 3 assists, including a 5-0 mark in Big 12 play.
*A&M shot a season-high 62.0 percent from the field. Its previous best was .571 vs. Kent State on Nov. 29 in the South Padre Island Invitational.
*A&M is 18-1 this season when it makes at least 43 percent from the field. A&M is 21-0 under Mark Turgeon when it makes at least 50 percent.
*A&M is 16-0 when it scores at least 72 points, with an 8-0 mark in Big 12 play. A&M is 30-1 under Mark Turgeon when it scores at least 72.
*A&M is 13-2 when at least four players score in double figures.
*When Carter, Sloan and Davis each score in double figures, A&M is 14-1 in their careers (10-1 this year) with the only loss at Oklahoma earlier this year.
*A&M's 39 bench points were their second most in Big 12 play. A&M had 42 last week against Iowa State.
*A&M is 22-3 when it has at least 9 assists this season and is 14-0 when it has a positive assist/turnover ratio.
*Missouri scored just 11 points off turnovers. A&M is 17-1 when its opponents scores fewer than 14 points off turnovers.
*A&M has outrebounded 10 of its last 11 opponents.
*A&M scored 36 points in the paint. The Aggies are 18-0 when they score at least 27 points in the paint.
*A&M had just two players foul out in Big 12 play, tying the school record for conference play (1959 in the Southwest Conference). For the season, only five Aggies have fouled out. The record is eight in 1958-59.
