Aggie seniors bid fond farewell

A&M beats Tigers in last home game

By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Staff Writer


The Kansas Jayhawks took the drama out of Texas A&M's regular-season finale, but they weren't able to drain any of the emotion from it.


Six seniors said goodbye to Reed Arena on Saturday, and 13,203 fans showed their appreciation for what the Texas A&M men's basketball Class of 2007 has meant to the university and the community.

Seventh-ranked A&M (25-5, 13-3) ran away in the second half for a 94-78 victory over Missouri, securing second place in the Big 12 and a No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament.

Third-ranked Kansas ended A&M's hopes of gaining a share of the championship before the Aggies took the court Saturday, beating Texas 90-86 in Lawrence, Kan., to claim the Big 12 le outright.

At Reed Arena, the day opened with the six seniors - Acie Law IV, Marlon Pompey, Antanas Kavaliauskas, Josh Johnston, Logan Lee and Brian Blackburn - being introduced in traditional Senior Day style.

But there was nothing ordinary about the close.

With A&M leading comfortably and the fans chanting Blackburn's name, the final 2 minutes couldn't have been scripted better with each senior getting a standing ovation from the fans and a hug from A&M head coach Billy Gillispie as they exited the game.

Blackburn finished on the court and put the capper on the game when his jumper rattled home for the final two points with 12 seconds left.

AGGIE MEN

TEXAS A&M 94, MISSOURI 78

RECORDS: No. 6 Texas A&M (25-5, 13-3), Missouri (18-11, 7-9)

LEADING SCORERS: Texas A&M's Antanas Kavaliauskas, 26; Missouri's Stefhon Hannah, 17

NEXT: Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State-Nebraska winner, 6 p.m. Friday, Big 12 Tournament

When it was all over, no one wanted to leave the court. Johnston took the microphone and thanked the fans. One by one, with Pompey having to be nudged by Gillispie, the seniors paid respects to their families and bid adieu to the fans.

"No matter how much time you try to not show your emotions outwardly, it's very difficult for me because these guys have been so important to me personally and so important to this community and university," Gillispie said. "I don't know how you measure those types of things. It will be looked at in high esteem for a very long time."

Kavaliauskas, who was teary-eyed when he walked out with his mother, Birute, before the game, said "I love you" to her in Lithuanian and then asked her to come onto the court. Soon after, all the players' families were back on center stage.

"It was a great game, and my mom being here made it even more special," Kavaliauskas said. "I hadn't seen her since last May, so it was emotional for both of us. She said she'd never seen a game like that before. She loved it."

There wasn't much for her not to love. In the only game she's seen her son play in the United States, Kavaliauskas hit 11 of 12 shots from the floor and 4 of 4 free throws for a career-high 26 points.

He scored the first seven points of the game and nine of the Aggies' first 12 second-half points to break open the game after Missouri (18-11, 7-9) tied it 42-42 at the first-half buzzer.

As if not wanting to let the moment end, Gillispie brought the seniors into the interview room after their short speeches on court and asked media members if they could stay while he gave his opening statement and answered questions.

"Everytime they won a game, it was a first time," Gillispie said of A&M's seniors. "The first time we won here, the first time we won there, the first we did this ... you could go through the whole 50 states, and we hadn't beaten anybody apparently. There is a level in being able to believe, and these guys have shown me how to believe at a far greater level than I've ever been able to believe."


Gillispie believes so much in his team, he even admitted for the first time that A&M would make the NCAA Tournament, a subject he has shied away from during the grind of the season.

A&M sop re Josh Carter momentarily stole some of the seniors' thunder by scoring 20 points. He also had a game-high nine rebounds.

Pompey scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor.


Acie Law and Billy Gillispie celebrate after A&M's win over Missouri.
Law, who had a season-high 33 in A&M's classic battle with Texas on Wednesday, had 20 points Saturday. It was 20 more than Gillispie said he thought Law would get.

"I had a nightmare that Acie couldn't play today, so I didn't sleep much," Gillispie said.

Law said he wasn't able to sleep, either.

"I'm glad we came out and played well and got a victory and ended my career at Reed Arena like we did," Law said. "This is something like [Kavaliauskas] said - I don't want it to end. These are the best years of your life, and I'm going to miss these guys and that's what it's all about."



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NOTES - Missouri was led by Stefhon Hannah with 17 points. ... A&M will play the winner of the Nebraska-Oklahoma State game in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament at 6 p.m. Friday. ... A&M shot 61 percent for the game. ... The three A&M seniors who play heavy minutes (Law, Pompey, Kavaliauskas) were 22 of 27. ... Former A&M Consolidated standout Marcus Watkins played in his last regular-season game for Missouri. The 6-4 senior, who is the son of former Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins, played 7 minutes but did not score after getting a career-high 15 points in the Tigers' last home game.