Texas A&M
9-3
Arkansas Tech
8-2
Texas A&M 76, Arkansas Tech 58
Dec 29, 2011 | Men's Basketball
The win breaks a two-game skid for the Aggies (9-3) in their last non-conference game before opening Big 12 play on Monday against No. 6 Baylor.
Texas A&M was up by 12 points before using an 8-3 run, highlighted by a dunk by freshman Daniel Alexander, to extend its advantage to 51-34 with about 12 minutes remaining.
Arkansas Tech (8-2) was led by Johnie Davis, who had 16 points.
The Aggies outshot Arkansas Tech 51 percent to 35 percent and had 19 more rebounds with 47 total in the game.
TEXAS A&M 76, ARKANSAS TECH 58
Thursday, December 29, 2011 - Reed Arena - College Station, Texas
Attendance: 8,519
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME NOTES
Team
- Texas A&M's 23 assists were the most in a game since Dec. 8, 2007, when the Aggies dished out 26 in a win over Texas State.
- A&M hit eight 3-pointers on the night, a season high.
- The Aggies improved to 9-0 on the year when holding foes under 60 points.
- The victory was A&M's 100th in non-conference play at Reed Arena ... the Aggies are 100-10 all-time in non-league tilts inside the building, which opened in 1998.
- Thursday's attendance of 8,519 was a season high.
Individual
- David Loubeau became the 32nd player in school history to reach the 1,000-point mark in his career ... the senior from Miami has 1,002 career points ... he also grabbed 3 rebounds, moving his all-time total to 994 ... Loubeau needs 6 boards to become the 22nd player all-time to join the 500-rebound club and only the 16th in school history to join the 1,000-point/500-rebound club.
- Ray Turner recorded the second double-double of his career, reaching the mark just 90 seconds into the second half ... he finished with 15 points (on 7-of-9 shooting) and a career-high 15 rebounds ... it was the most rebounds by an Aggie player since Bryan Davis grabbed 15 in an NCAA game against Purdue in March of 2010.
- Elston Turner matched a career high with four 3-pointers ... he scored 19 on the night, one shy of his career high.
- Dash Harris (10 points) has scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
- Daniel Alexander set career highs in points (6) and rebounds (8).
TEXAS A&M POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
"It's good to get back on the winning track. I like the fact that we had 23 assists and we shared the ball. I thought we did some good things defensively, especially in the first half, against an Arkansas Tech team that's a pretty good Division II team. I was pleased to get the win."
On Jamal Branch's decision to leave the team...
"Jamal Branch and his father decided to look at some other options and transfer today. We wish him the best. It kind of put us in a situation today where we had to manufacture some different things, with Elston (Turner) at the 1. We are going to have to be real efficient in Big 12 play to have an opportunity to win against the opponents we're going to play. But we'll have our guys ready and we look forward to the challenge."
On the effort of Daniel Alexander...
"Especially with Kourtney being down, we gave him an opportunity in the first half. He hadn't had a lot of opportunities to play, so he got his confidence going a little bit and he gave us a big boost. I was glad to see him play well because he's worked hard for it."
On the rebounding...
"I thought Ray was definitely a force on the boards especially with David Loubeau not playing much. To have 15 rebounds was key."
Were you pleased with the way your team responded and got back on track despite all that's happened?
"Yeah, I was. Anytime you lose going into the Christmas break it's tough. To lose a player today and to just keep going, and play as well as we did at times, was good."
On opening Big 12 play Monday at Baylor...
"Obviously Baylor's one of the best teams in the country. Their talent and their length, they look like they have really good chemistry. They're getting great guard play. It's going to be a challenge. I know we struggled with them last year and I think they're a lot better than they were last year. So it's going to be quite a challenge. We're going to have to play a really good game, but we're excited about the opportunity. Nobody's beaten them yet, so to have an opportunity to beat an undefeated team is a great challenge."
F DANIEL ALEXANDER
On his impact in the game...
"First of all I was just blessed to get an opportunity. When guys are out it's never positive, with Kourtney getting hurt. But I've been able to step in and play a little bit, so I was just trying to play hard and not do too much at once."
On the coaches' message to him after Roberson's injury...
"The coaches told me I always had to be ready, and that's been a motto for everyone-always be ready. Obviously you also look for opportunities and chances to play, and it was awesome to get one tonight."
F RAY TURNER
Did the team get back to A&M's style of rebounding and defense?
"I think we did better on the boards. My mentality was to come in this game and attack the boards. I've been trying to get myself better and my teammates better. The guards have been getting on the bigs to make sure we rebound more, going hard for the glass and not giving up. Whoever is your opponent, just make sure you can get it before they do and box out, and that's what I did tonight."
On his 15-rebound effort...
"What it came down to was that I was in great position, boxing my man out. And on the offensive end, anything that my teammates put up I told myself that I had to get it back just in case it came off. That was my role I played today."
ARKANSAS TECH POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH DOUG KARLESKINT
"First off, I'd just like to thank Coach Kennedy and the Texas A&M staff for giving us the opportunity to come down here and play. As a D-II school, it's a deal where our kids really look forward to this, we use it as recruiting tools and it helps our budget. So we're really gracious for the opportunity that he gave us. They have a great team. I was proud of our kids. I thought we fought hard, we just had a spell there in the first half where we turned the ball over and we just couldn't hit shots."
Talk about the first half effort...
"At the 10-minute mark we were right there with them, and then it seemed like we were on 15 or 17 there forever. I don't know how long we went, maybe 8 or 9 minutes, but it seemed like a long time without a field goal. We were struggling finding our rhythm, and then we just kind of panicked there. We had some traveling calls and just got out of our flow. That was a stretch that just really got to us."
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