degenerate_gambler
01-24-2008, 09:59 AM
http://www.aggiesports.com/mbasketball/Bears_make_the_money_plays_to_beat_A_amp_amp_M
Bears make the money plays to beat A&M
By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Staff Writer
The Reed Rowdies gave the wounded Aggies the emotional lift they needed coming off a pair of double-digit road losses. Unfortunately, the Rowdies couldn't don uniforms to help shoot free throws and grab rebounds.
The Baylor Bears got the best of Texas A&M in both, grabbing a 116-110, five-overtime victory in a game they'll be talking about for years.
ESPN Classic would be showing the replay tonight -- had it been televised.
The play on both sides was inspiring in the first Top 25 meeting between the two programs. In 195 previous matchups, the Aggies and Bears hadn't met while both being ranked nationally.
And they lived up to the billing, producing plenty of highlights. But the bottom line for the home team was it didn't make enough plays to win. Baylor did, and the Bears made the game-winning plays with five players having fouled out.
The defense was exceptional considering the battle lasted longer than an A&M-Tech football game. Both teams shot less than 40 percent from the field, yet combined for only 30 turnovers in 3 1/2 hours of hand-to-hand combat.
A&M took away Baylor's 3-point shooting, which made free throws and rebounding huge.
A&M, the Big 12's worst free-throw shooting team, hit 36 of 59 for 61 percent, which was slightly above its season average.
Baylor, which leads the Big 12, was 39 of 47 for 83 percent -- a good 10 percentage points higher than its average.
The pesky Bears hit 24 of 28 free throws in overtime with guard Curtis Jerrells hitting 14 of 17, including seven straight in the fifth overtime, the first completing a three-point play that gave BU the lead for good.
The pesky Bears hit 24 of 28 free throws in overtime with guard Curtis Jerrells hitting 14 of 17, including seven straight in the fifth overtime, the first completing a three-point play that gave BU the lead for good.
A&M missed a great chance at the line in the third overtime.
The Aggies had an 87-82 lead when BU was forced to foul Dominique Kirk, a 71-percent free-throw shooter. Kirk was cramping, so he was replaced by Nathan Walkup, who was 4 of 5 for the season. Walkup missed both attempts.
Baylor's ability to hit free throws wasn't shocking, but its competitiveness in the paint was. Baylor held a 70-64 edge in rebounds. The hustling Bears had eight players with at least four rebounds.
The Aggies with 7-foot freshman DeAndre Jordan and 6-10 Joseph Jones couldn't dominate the smaller Bears, who used quickness to get the job done.
The Bears scored 14 more points than A&M in transition, which helped offset the 18 more points the Aggies scored in the point.
Baylor had only six steals, but none was bigger than
Jerrells' theft with A&M up 71-67 in the first overtime. He took the ball in backcourt from Donald Sloan, who promptly intentionally fouled.
That gave Baylor the lift it needed to force a fourth overtime, and eventually, the Bears got the job done.
Lost in the shuffle for A&M was a great game by Bryan Davis who did some nice things inside and shot well from the free-throw line (12 of 19) en route to 30 points.
Sloan also had a slew of good plays in 57 minutes, but his struggles at the free-throw line (4 of 11) helped A&M lose its third straight, which was most displeasing to the Reed Rowdies.
Bears make the money plays to beat A&M
By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Staff Writer
The Reed Rowdies gave the wounded Aggies the emotional lift they needed coming off a pair of double-digit road losses. Unfortunately, the Rowdies couldn't don uniforms to help shoot free throws and grab rebounds.
The Baylor Bears got the best of Texas A&M in both, grabbing a 116-110, five-overtime victory in a game they'll be talking about for years.
ESPN Classic would be showing the replay tonight -- had it been televised.
The play on both sides was inspiring in the first Top 25 meeting between the two programs. In 195 previous matchups, the Aggies and Bears hadn't met while both being ranked nationally.
And they lived up to the billing, producing plenty of highlights. But the bottom line for the home team was it didn't make enough plays to win. Baylor did, and the Bears made the game-winning plays with five players having fouled out.
The defense was exceptional considering the battle lasted longer than an A&M-Tech football game. Both teams shot less than 40 percent from the field, yet combined for only 30 turnovers in 3 1/2 hours of hand-to-hand combat.
A&M took away Baylor's 3-point shooting, which made free throws and rebounding huge.
A&M, the Big 12's worst free-throw shooting team, hit 36 of 59 for 61 percent, which was slightly above its season average.
Baylor, which leads the Big 12, was 39 of 47 for 83 percent -- a good 10 percentage points higher than its average.
The pesky Bears hit 24 of 28 free throws in overtime with guard Curtis Jerrells hitting 14 of 17, including seven straight in the fifth overtime, the first completing a three-point play that gave BU the lead for good.
The pesky Bears hit 24 of 28 free throws in overtime with guard Curtis Jerrells hitting 14 of 17, including seven straight in the fifth overtime, the first completing a three-point play that gave BU the lead for good.
A&M missed a great chance at the line in the third overtime.
The Aggies had an 87-82 lead when BU was forced to foul Dominique Kirk, a 71-percent free-throw shooter. Kirk was cramping, so he was replaced by Nathan Walkup, who was 4 of 5 for the season. Walkup missed both attempts.
Baylor's ability to hit free throws wasn't shocking, but its competitiveness in the paint was. Baylor held a 70-64 edge in rebounds. The hustling Bears had eight players with at least four rebounds.
The Aggies with 7-foot freshman DeAndre Jordan and 6-10 Joseph Jones couldn't dominate the smaller Bears, who used quickness to get the job done.
The Bears scored 14 more points than A&M in transition, which helped offset the 18 more points the Aggies scored in the point.
Baylor had only six steals, but none was bigger than
Jerrells' theft with A&M up 71-67 in the first overtime. He took the ball in backcourt from Donald Sloan, who promptly intentionally fouled.
That gave Baylor the lift it needed to force a fourth overtime, and eventually, the Bears got the job done.
Lost in the shuffle for A&M was a great game by Bryan Davis who did some nice things inside and shot well from the free-throw line (12 of 19) en route to 30 points.
Sloan also had a slew of good plays in 57 minutes, but his struggles at the free-throw line (4 of 11) helped A&M lose its third straight, which was most displeasing to the Reed Rowdies.