Texas A&M
12-3, 1-0
NEBRASKA
12-4, 0-1
Texas A&M Tops Nebraska, 64-53
Jan 09, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)--Donald Sloan scored 26 points, including several key free throws down the stretch, to give Texas A&M a 64-53 win over Nebraska in the Big 12 opener for both teams Saturday.
Facing the Big 12's stingiest defense, the Aggies improved to 12-0 this season when holding teams to less than 70 points.
Nebraska (12-4) led by one before Texas A&M (12-3) scored nine straight points, six on free throws by Sloan, to take a 51-43 lead with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining.
The Cornhuskers cut the lead to six before a 3-pointer by A&M's Nathan Walkup with less then five minutes remaining made it 54-45, and Nebraska didn't threaten again.
Nebraska was led Christian Standhardinger, a freshman from Germany, who had 13 points in his debut for the Cornhuskers.
POSTGAME QUOTES
A&M GUARD Donald Sloan
On how tough it is to score 26 points on Nebraska... "Hard. Fortunately I was able to make some free throws. I got my first couple and they got me going a little bit. Then a couple more came that really contributed a lot to the 26 points."
On making free throws in crunch time... "They were as big as any I shot all day. I take my hat off to Nebraska. They are scrappy, they never give up. They are going to get those 50-50 balls that bounce around on the ground and do everything they need to do to win. Fortunately we shot a good free-throw percentage today from the line. If it wasn't for that, maybe overtime or the game would have been closer than what it was."
On Bryan Davis' blocked shot and subsequent assist in the second half... "It was real big. That kind of changed the game in our favor. Plays like that mean a lot to us. This league is very tough. Plays like that, I wouldn't say they determine the outcome of the game but they mean a lot to the outcome. Plays like that get us going a little bit more."
On shooting poorly from 3-point range but still winning... "I take my hat off to our defense. Our shots from three weren't falling today, but we knew we really can't change that. If they're not falling they're not falling. But we can always expect to play a certain way on defense. We can't always control the offensive half but we can control the other half."
On having Derrick Roland on the bench... "It felt good. That was my first time seeing him in regular clothes in a while. I'm sure he's happy. He means a lot to us, and to see him happy, smiling and actually stepping on the leg...that kind of brings hope to all of us. He leads by example. During the game you could hear him talking and it feels good knowing he's back."
A&M FORWARD Bryan DavisBryan Davis
On his blocked shot and subsequent assist in the 2nd half... "At that point, I was trying to play as smart as I can, so I can be on the court to help out the team. I think that block helped us defensively and got us momentum and got the crowd going."
On winning the rebounding battle... "Nebraska, they are a tough team from one to five. Those guys fight until the end of the game. Even with six seconds left they were still crashing the boards. Those guys are really tough."
On opening Big 12 play with a win... "It feels real good. Last year we didn't get our first win even though we were on the road. The first one is always the hardest to get."
On the week ahead... "I'm looking forward to going up there (K-State). We played a tough game against them last year here and we didn't come out with the victory. But I feel pretty confident going into both of those games."
NEBRASKA COACH DOC SADLER
"First of all, the game was just like you think it would be. It was a low-scoring ballgame. Neither team didn't shoot as well as they've been shooting it. I hope that the defense on both sides had something to do with that, but I'm afraid that when both of us look at the tape we will see a lot of open shots missed in the first half. You have to play really well, when you come down here, to win. You can't get outscored at the free-throw line by 19 points and expect to win on the road. Turnovers were a little high for us but I think A&M had something to do with that. The thing that concerned me coming into the game was I wanted to have a chance with five minutes to go in the game. That's where toughness kicks in. You've got to find a way to win the game. Obviously they were little bit tougher than us mentally. They made plays and we didn't. Welcome to the road and welcome to the league. I can't say I'm totally disappointed though, especially when you look at the number of young guys I played. But we have to get tough quick."
On rebounding being a sign of toughness... "That's part of it. We've got to understand that some things that were maybe called in the past may not be called now. You have to be tougher about it. They are going to let you play more physical when you get in the league."
On the play of Christian Standhardinger: "(It was) about what I thought (it would be). Maybe a little bit better defensively than I thought it would be. But overall it's the first game he's played."
On the message sent to his young players: "We've got to learn from this one, think about it, and when we come to practice on Monday, it's over. When you go to a Big 12 school, the chances are at some point in your career you'll get to play against the No. 1-ranked team in the country. That's bad because they're really, really good. But it's good because that's what you want as a player."
A&M COACH Mark TurgeonMark Turgeon
"That's a great win. (Nebraska coach) Doc (Sadler) does great job. They're hard to play against. They use the clock well. I thought (Christian Standhardinger) got them going in the second half. For us to shoot the ball the way we shot it and still win, I'm proud of our group. We continued to guard throughout the game and played through some foul trouble. I told our guys after the game we shot 14 percent from three and 38 for the game, and we won by double figures. That's because you defend and rebound. We know we have to play better. But this was a good win for us."
On the sequence with eight minutes left where Bryan Davis blocked a shot, brought it down, and dished to B.J. Holmes... "Yeah, it got us going and it got the crowd going. We were really struggling. We couldn't score. I think we felt a little pressure. (people think) We're supposed to beat Nebraska at home, but I'm not sure that's the way it should be. We finally loosened up when B.J. hit that shot. The crowd was fantastic. We just really guarded and we rebounded. That was our best rebounding effort against a quality opponent."
On the play of Donald Sloan: "He took over the game. We do a lot to get him the ball. I don't like to do it too early in the game. We don't want to isolate him early in a game because everyone stands around and watches. He's hard to guard. He can get the ball where he wants to get it. We have good spacing in our offense. I was a little concerned about fatigue for him...he played 36 minutes and made free throws down the stretch, and defensively he was pretty good. I thought Bryan Davis' defense and rebounding and passing, and Sloan's offense down the stretch was the difference. Those two were really good. Donald's scoring in a variety of ways and he has to. We just can't make a shot right now. We're getting good looks. We turned it over against their double team pretty good. But we're going to make shots. As long as we defend and rebound we will be fine."
On whether or not Nebraska is a frustrating team to play... "Yeah, they are. They are well-coached and disciplined. They're really good at bumping you under the basket and getting away with it...does that make sense? And I know we shot a lot of free throws (tonight). They're really good physically at getting you off your game. They also did a good job of getting us off the post and making us shoot jumpers. They've got a nice young team. I tell you what, they'll be tough to play in about a month."
On having Derrick Roland on the bench... "I was happy for him. That couldn't have been easy for him sitting out there. It was important for him to be here, and important for our guys for him to be here. As soon as he's able to move around a little bit better, he'll probably become more of a coach for us and really lead us that way. It was a good part of the healing process for him to be here. I love the way the fans welcomed him. He's a tough kid, and it was good to see him down there. (NU coach) Doc (Sadler) was gracious enough to let us do it, to introduce him to the crowd."
On the challenges of playing at K-State and Texas next week... "Well, that's the whole league. Obviously we are playing two top-10 teams. And they (K-State) lost today, that's even worse. K-State will be fired up. We're going into their home and it'll be sold out. We've just got to get better between now and 6 o'clock Tuesday night. But what an opportunity, to play two top-10 teams next week. That's a pretty good opportunity for a program."
A&M NOTES
*A&M has won six straight Big 12 home openers.
*A&M has won 12 straight home games, including four straight in Big 12 play. The Aggies are 25-2 at Reed Arena since the start of the 2008-09 season. A&M is 41-6 at home under Mark Turgeon.
*Nebraska shot just 37.0 percent from the field. A&M is 35-3 under Turgeon when its opponent makes less than 40 percent from the field.
*A&M has won 16 straight games when its opponent scores fewer than 70 points, including a 12-0 record this season.
*Donald Sloan's 26 points were the second most of his career (29 vs. New Mexico last month in Houston) and were a career-high for a home game. Sloan has scored at least 16 points in eight straight games.
*Sloan made a career-high 13-of-14 from the free throw line. In the last eight games, he's made 55-of-58 from the line.
*Bryan Davis scored 11 points with 11 rebounds, his first double-double of the year and the sixth of his career. Davis has averaged 10.3 points and 10.3 rebounds in the last three games.
*Dash Harris had 3 assists. The Aggies are 17-1 in his career when he has 3 or more assists. The only loss was to top-seeded Connecticut in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
*Nathan Walkup matched his season high with 6 rebounds.
*A&M's +12 (40-28) rebounding margin matched its season best (The Citadel).
