Texas A&M

The Texas A&M Aggies closed out the regular season with a victory over Missouri at home in Reed Stadium on March 7th. This marks the Aggies sixth straight win, their 16th win at home this season, and the fifth consecutive year the Aggies have had 16 or more victories.
“A lot of teams would have folded, but we didn’t,” coach Mark Turgeon said. “Our poise has gotten better during that stretch and our fight has been unbelievable. We’ve just had great fight and determination in us.”
For the Tigers, it marks a missed opportunity for a share in the Big 12 for the first time in their school’s history.
In the first half Missouri committed nine turnovers and Carroll, their leading scorer, was held to only two points. Ten minutes in the Aggies scored nine straight points on three pointers, bringing the lead to 27-14. By halftime, the Aggies led with a 22 point separation.
“Congratulations to A&M; they were the hungrier team today.” Said Missouri head coach Mike Anderson. “They made big shots and plays. First half we dug ourselves in a big hole and it is really hard to play out of those. We had a chance to come back but A&M kept making plays to keep their cushion. Our kids never did give up; we fought back but just couldn’t close it. Now we are going to focus on the Big 12 tournament. I think the first game is the most important because it sets the tone for your post season.”
Four minutes into the second half, the Aggies had widened the gap to a 26 point lead, and the next six minutes showed Missouri fighting for the win, scoring four treys and going on a 20-7 run that trimmed the deficit to 69-56.
In the end, it wasn’t enough, as fouls by Matt Lawrence and Demarre Carroll allowed the last nine aggie points to be scored from the charity line.
Donald Sloan led the Aggies with 16 points. Josh Carter and B.J. Holmes each added 13.
“This game was intense from the tipoff. We came out and made things happen. We knew what kind of team they were. They try and speed you up and trap. Everything we have worked on helped today. We really worked on being aggressive. I think we got an NCAA bid today. We are just happy we got Josh a win on his senior day. We never gave up this season.”
Demarre Carroll led Missouri with 18, cutting the lead to seven twice in the last five minutes, and Zaire Taylor added 17.
“It was a relief, now the question is, how good do we want to be? Do we want to be remembered as a pretty good team that won 23 or 24 games, or do we want to want to be remembered as a great team! That’s what it comes down for us over the next few weeks,” said Turgeon.

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