Wednesday, November 9
College Station
7:00 PM
Texas A&M
1-0
81
vs
59
Liberty
0-1
1
2
F
Liberty
14
45
59
Texas A&M
37
44
81
No. 19 Aggies Top Liberty, 81-59
Nov 09, 2011 | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - Ray Turner scored a career-high 20 points and No. 19/20 Texas A&M shot 65 percent from the field while cruising past Liberty 81-59 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams.
The Aggies played without first-year coach Billy Kennedy, on leave following his recent diagnosis of an early stage of Parkinson's disease. Texas A&M associate head coach Glynn Cyprien has run the team in Kennedy's absence.
Kennedy has visited the arena daily over the past week and Cyprien has said Kennedy is expected back full-time "soon."
Texas A&M put away the Flames early with a 24-4 run midway through the first half. The Aggies shot 59.3 percent (16 of 27) from the field in the first half and jumped to a 37-14 lead at the break before a crowd of 6,118 at Reed Arena.
Elston Turner had 16 points and David Loubeau added 14 for the Aggies, who began their 100th season in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Next up, they host Southern on Sunday.
Texas A&M has won 61 straight non-conference games dating to 2005.
David Minaya led Liberty with 14 points.
With the game well in hand, the Aggies shot 72 percent (18 of 25) in the second half and finished at 65.4 percent from the floor (34 for 52), the fifth-highest mark in school history. Still, the Flames outscored the Aggies 45-44 in the second half.
Cyprien said guard Khris Middleton strained his hamstring and is day to day.
The Aggies outrebounded the Flames 39-29, with Elston Turner, Ray Turner and Keith Davis grabbing six boards apiece.
A&M is one of 12 teams in the country that has been to six consecutive NCAA tournaments.
Team
- The Aggies shot 65.4 percent (34-of-52) from the floor in the game, the fifth-highest total in school history and the highest in four years ... it marked just the second time since 1988 that an Aggie team connected on better than 65 percent in a game.
- A&M held Liberty to 14 points on 4-of-24 shooting in the first half ... it was the fourth-lowest first-half output by an opponent in school history, and the lowest since the Aggies held The Citadel to 11 points on Dec. 19, 2009.
Individual
- Ray Turner's 20 points were a career high ... it was the second double-figure scoring outing of his career.
- Elston Turner's 6 rebounds were a career high ... he also hit double figures in scoring for the 10th time in his career (all at Washington) and was playing in his first collegiate game since March 25, 2010 against West Virginia (NCAA Sweet 16).
- Keith Davis set a career high with 6 rebounds.
- Senior Dash Harris played in the 100th game of his career.
- Five players saw their first career action in the maroon and white-senior Zach Kinsley (Baton Rouge, La.); junior Elston Turner (Sacramento, Calif.); redshirt freshman Daniel Alexander (Austin); freshmen Jamal Branch (Arlington) and Jordan Green (Flower Mound)
Miscellaneous
- The Aggies won their 61st consecutive non-conference game at Reed Arena (dating back to start of 2005-06 season) and 74th straight regular-season, non-conference home game (dating back to 2003).
- A&M has now won 11 straight season-opening games and 12 consecutive home openers.
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH GLYNN CYPRIEN
Overall, as a staff we thought the effort was really good. We thought the guys played hard. We were fortunate enough tonight that we had a lot of guys play a lot of minutes. The game plan was to play inside out, which means we wanted to post the ball and get out early and work off our bigs. Any time you have 21 assists and 13 turnovers when the game is up and down and you score 81 points, you can be excited about that. When you shoot 65 percent from the field, you can be excited about that.
There are things we're not happy about. We gave up some uncontested 3-point shots, which we can't do. We just have to get better at our 3-point defense. You look at the free throw shooting.
The status on Khris is that his hamstring is day-to-day. We should have more information on him later. Khris leaving the game forced us to pay Elston 30 minutes, we didn't want to play him that much, but we had to with Khris being gone.
Overall we're happy with the win. The effort was good and our post players played pretty well. For Ray to have 20 points and Loubeau to have 14 and Keith to have six rebounds, that's pretty good.
On Jamal Branch's play
I thought he played well. I thought he did some good things. He has to clean some things up. We're going to need Jamal to be good for us to be good. At times I wanted to play him with Dash, but I wanted to play those guys together so that in game conditions they get used to playing with one another.
On Ray Turner's play
Well, I've given Ray all kinds of credit and he's done a good job with our strength and conditioning program. He got a lot of his buckets running and his conditioning. We're impressed. If he can give us 20 and 6 every game, we'll be a good team.
On Elston Turner's play
What can you say? He' a coach's son. He understands how to play. He's in the right position. He's got to be consistent for us. We've been harping on him for his defense, and its' getting better. We want him to communicate better on the court and be a leader. He's a good player and we're more than glad to have him on the team.
On Coach Kennedy being present tonight
Coach is here tonight and has been around all day. He was in the locker room, he looks good and gave us some great advice and his thoughts and spoke with the team after the game. It's a day-to-day situation for him.
How do you prepare to play on Sunday
Practice. We're going to go tomorrow and practice every day. We have to get ready for southern, that's our focus. They'll come in a pose some problems for us. I like the fact that our guys were able to handle the press and the zone and I'm happy with that.
SENIOR GUARD ELSTON TURNER
What did you do to keep your game up although you weren't hitting from outside?
Like I said last week, you're not going to hit every shot. I didn't get it going from the outside, but I was just trying to find ways to impact the game and be active on defense and find other ways to score. I had to be more aggressive getting into the paint, feeding off Ray and the other guys and get going in the inside.
What worked defensively?
We were just active. We made them work for every single shot, forcing turnovers and running out in the open. They're a great team. We prepared well for them. I felt like we had to get it going and it starts with defense. Defense turns into offensive transition points.
On Coach Kennedy
We miss him. He's a great coach, but we're always going to be prepared because we have such a great coaching staff. It's day-to-day, but when he comes back I feel like we're not going back, we're picking right where we left off.
JUNIOR FORWARD RAY TURNER
How did it feel doing so well after your year last year?
It feels really good. We came out there and played hard and with effort. We ran the floor just like we've been doing in practice and it paid off.
What things does the team still need to improve on?
It's just got to keep consistency, effort, play hard, don't give up on loose balls plays, keep the intensity up and along the way we should do really well.
On getting the first win of the season
It feels good to have a win behind us, but it doesn't stop here. We have a long run ahead of us. We have a lot to learn. We're doing better on defense, but we have a lot to do.
On Jamal Branch's play
I think he did a good job. I liked the one that he didn't get to me that he got that guard with. But he's doing well, and he just has to keep his head up and he'll keep doing well.
LIBERTY HEAD COACH DALE LAYER
Opening statement
They're a really good basketball team. I pray for Coach Kennedy every day, he's a good man and a good coach. We miss him in the game, it's a shame that he's not here. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. Texas A&M is a good basketball team. Their length and athleticism got to us in the first half. I thought we played much more to my liking in the second half.
Did it feel like the team was missing open shots?
We missed seven open looks and two at the rim. I thought their length bothered some of our shots, but we missed shot we don't normally miss. I thought having only 10 turnovers was excellent on our part. I thought the tempo control was excellent for our team.
On struggles in the passing game
Their length and athleticism took the basket away from us. We were relegated to a jump shooting team. We have guys that make jump shots, but it was our first game and it was against Texas A&M and in the first half, we weren't. They're good, they're a better team than we are. But I was very pleased how we responded at halftime and I thought we played much better in the second half.
The Aggies played without first-year coach Billy Kennedy, on leave following his recent diagnosis of an early stage of Parkinson's disease. Texas A&M associate head coach Glynn Cyprien has run the team in Kennedy's absence.
Kennedy has visited the arena daily over the past week and Cyprien has said Kennedy is expected back full-time "soon."
Texas A&M put away the Flames early with a 24-4 run midway through the first half. The Aggies shot 59.3 percent (16 of 27) from the field in the first half and jumped to a 37-14 lead at the break before a crowd of 6,118 at Reed Arena.
Elston Turner had 16 points and David Loubeau added 14 for the Aggies, who began their 100th season in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. Next up, they host Southern on Sunday.
Texas A&M has won 61 straight non-conference games dating to 2005.
David Minaya led Liberty with 14 points.
With the game well in hand, the Aggies shot 72 percent (18 of 25) in the second half and finished at 65.4 percent from the floor (34 for 52), the fifth-highest mark in school history. Still, the Flames outscored the Aggies 45-44 in the second half.
Cyprien said guard Khris Middleton strained his hamstring and is day to day.
The Aggies outrebounded the Flames 39-29, with Elston Turner, Ray Turner and Keith Davis grabbing six boards apiece.
A&M is one of 12 teams in the country that has been to six consecutive NCAA tournaments.
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME NOTES
Team
- The Aggies shot 65.4 percent (34-of-52) from the floor in the game, the fifth-highest total in school history and the highest in four years ... it marked just the second time since 1988 that an Aggie team connected on better than 65 percent in a game.
- A&M held Liberty to 14 points on 4-of-24 shooting in the first half ... it was the fourth-lowest first-half output by an opponent in school history, and the lowest since the Aggies held The Citadel to 11 points on Dec. 19, 2009.
Individual
- Ray Turner's 20 points were a career high ... it was the second double-figure scoring outing of his career.
- Elston Turner's 6 rebounds were a career high ... he also hit double figures in scoring for the 10th time in his career (all at Washington) and was playing in his first collegiate game since March 25, 2010 against West Virginia (NCAA Sweet 16).
- Keith Davis set a career high with 6 rebounds.
- Senior Dash Harris played in the 100th game of his career.
- Five players saw their first career action in the maroon and white-senior Zach Kinsley (Baton Rouge, La.); junior Elston Turner (Sacramento, Calif.); redshirt freshman Daniel Alexander (Austin); freshmen Jamal Branch (Arlington) and Jordan Green (Flower Mound)
Miscellaneous
- The Aggies won their 61st consecutive non-conference game at Reed Arena (dating back to start of 2005-06 season) and 74th straight regular-season, non-conference home game (dating back to 2003).
- A&M has now won 11 straight season-opening games and 12 consecutive home openers.
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME QUOTES
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH GLYNN CYPRIEN
Overall, as a staff we thought the effort was really good. We thought the guys played hard. We were fortunate enough tonight that we had a lot of guys play a lot of minutes. The game plan was to play inside out, which means we wanted to post the ball and get out early and work off our bigs. Any time you have 21 assists and 13 turnovers when the game is up and down and you score 81 points, you can be excited about that. When you shoot 65 percent from the field, you can be excited about that.
There are things we're not happy about. We gave up some uncontested 3-point shots, which we can't do. We just have to get better at our 3-point defense. You look at the free throw shooting.
The status on Khris is that his hamstring is day-to-day. We should have more information on him later. Khris leaving the game forced us to pay Elston 30 minutes, we didn't want to play him that much, but we had to with Khris being gone.
Overall we're happy with the win. The effort was good and our post players played pretty well. For Ray to have 20 points and Loubeau to have 14 and Keith to have six rebounds, that's pretty good.
On Jamal Branch's play
I thought he played well. I thought he did some good things. He has to clean some things up. We're going to need Jamal to be good for us to be good. At times I wanted to play him with Dash, but I wanted to play those guys together so that in game conditions they get used to playing with one another.
On Ray Turner's play
Well, I've given Ray all kinds of credit and he's done a good job with our strength and conditioning program. He got a lot of his buckets running and his conditioning. We're impressed. If he can give us 20 and 6 every game, we'll be a good team.
On Elston Turner's play
What can you say? He' a coach's son. He understands how to play. He's in the right position. He's got to be consistent for us. We've been harping on him for his defense, and its' getting better. We want him to communicate better on the court and be a leader. He's a good player and we're more than glad to have him on the team.
On Coach Kennedy being present tonight
Coach is here tonight and has been around all day. He was in the locker room, he looks good and gave us some great advice and his thoughts and spoke with the team after the game. It's a day-to-day situation for him.
How do you prepare to play on Sunday
Practice. We're going to go tomorrow and practice every day. We have to get ready for southern, that's our focus. They'll come in a pose some problems for us. I like the fact that our guys were able to handle the press and the zone and I'm happy with that.
SENIOR GUARD ELSTON TURNER
What did you do to keep your game up although you weren't hitting from outside?
Like I said last week, you're not going to hit every shot. I didn't get it going from the outside, but I was just trying to find ways to impact the game and be active on defense and find other ways to score. I had to be more aggressive getting into the paint, feeding off Ray and the other guys and get going in the inside.
What worked defensively?
We were just active. We made them work for every single shot, forcing turnovers and running out in the open. They're a great team. We prepared well for them. I felt like we had to get it going and it starts with defense. Defense turns into offensive transition points.
On Coach Kennedy
We miss him. He's a great coach, but we're always going to be prepared because we have such a great coaching staff. It's day-to-day, but when he comes back I feel like we're not going back, we're picking right where we left off.
JUNIOR FORWARD RAY TURNER
How did it feel doing so well after your year last year?
It feels really good. We came out there and played hard and with effort. We ran the floor just like we've been doing in practice and it paid off.
What things does the team still need to improve on?
It's just got to keep consistency, effort, play hard, don't give up on loose balls plays, keep the intensity up and along the way we should do really well.
On getting the first win of the season
It feels good to have a win behind us, but it doesn't stop here. We have a long run ahead of us. We have a lot to learn. We're doing better on defense, but we have a lot to do.
On Jamal Branch's play
I think he did a good job. I liked the one that he didn't get to me that he got that guard with. But he's doing well, and he just has to keep his head up and he'll keep doing well.
LIBERTY HEAD COACH DALE LAYER
Opening statement
They're a really good basketball team. I pray for Coach Kennedy every day, he's a good man and a good coach. We miss him in the game, it's a shame that he's not here. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. Texas A&M is a good basketball team. Their length and athleticism got to us in the first half. I thought we played much more to my liking in the second half.
Did it feel like the team was missing open shots?
We missed seven open looks and two at the rim. I thought their length bothered some of our shots, but we missed shot we don't normally miss. I thought having only 10 turnovers was excellent on our part. I thought the tempo control was excellent for our team.
On struggles in the passing game
Their length and athleticism took the basket away from us. We were relegated to a jump shooting team. We have guys that make jump shots, but it was our first game and it was against Texas A&M and in the first half, we weren't. They're good, they're a better team than we are. But I was very pleased how we responded at halftime and I thought we played much better in the second half.
Team Stats
LIBERTY
TAM
FG%
.333
.654
3FG%
.238
.143
FT%
.800
.545
RB
29
39
TO
10
13
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
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