Cessna: Don't give up on Aggie men just yet

WACO -- You can put that doom and gloom talk about the Texas A&M men's basketball team on hold.

The Aggies made fourth-ranked Baylor work hard for a 61-52 victory Monday night. It certainly wasn't the blowout many expected. A&M was a 14-point underdog for the Big 12 opener, which seemed low since the Aggies had a lackluster showing in nonconference play, while Baylor was one of four unbeaten teams in the country, beating some pretty good teams in Brigham Young, St. Mary's, West Virginia and Mississippi State.

That 14-point line seemed accurate for only a half as Baylor built a 28-11 lead. A&M just had an atrocious start. Midway through the first half, the Aggies had nine fouls, eight turnovers and only seven points. Two of their main offensive threats, forwards Kris Middleton and David Loubeau, were in foul trouble, and the Bears, who are the league's tallest and most talented team, really weren't playing well.

But at least first-year A&M head coach Billy Kennedy, who has been through a lot this season both on and off the court, showed his sense of humor.

Middleton shot a 3-pointer that bounced high off the rim to the top of the backboard, hitting the support on the shot clock to be out-of-bounds, though it came down through the net.

Even though A&M trailed 22-11, Kennedy turned to one of his assistants and managed a smile, saying, "And he made the shot."

A few possessions earlier, Middleton had trouble catching a pass. The shot clock went off just a split second before Middleton gained control. Of course he made the 3-pointer.

Middleton had a brutal first half -- 1-of-7 shooting, two rebounds, two fouls and two turnovers in 10 minutes with no assists or steals.

Kennedy's patience and Middleton's hustle were rewarded as A&M battled back from a 19-point deficit to get within nine with 2 minutes left, even missing a pair of 3-pointers that would have made the final score more respectable.

"I was encouraged that we competed," Kennedy said. "We didn't always do that."

No one competed harder for the Ags than junior guard Elston Turner. The transfer from Washington who sat out last season hit a trio of 3-pointers in the second half en route to a career-high 21 points.

"We competed," Turner said. "We feel like if we play like this every night -- along with making shots -- we're going to be able to beat a lot of teams in the Big 12."

That was the plan coming into the season for the Aggies picked to share the league title with Kansas, but three losses, including one at home to Rice, and freshman guard Jamal Branch leaving the program created negative vibes. Kennedy also missed time while battling Parkinson's disease, and Middleton was out for seven games after having surgery to repair his right knee. So with each passing week it seemed the basketball team was on the same frustrating path the football team had taken in going from a Top 10 team to a 6-6 team with an interim head coach in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.

But if Baylor indeed is the Big 12's best team, the future looked better Monday night, even if the Aggies did lose. A&M caught a break with school out in its final trip to the Ferrell Center as a member of the Big 12, but the home court still had to be worth 5-7 points for Baylor.

"This was our first true road game," Kennedy said.

And considering A&M had to play a lot of youngsters because of foul trouble and no Branch, it was a good learning experience.

A win would have been monumental, but A&M has taken much better teams to Waco and lost to Baylor teams that weren't nearly as talented as this year's Bears.

So hold that doom and gloom talk at least until Saturday's Big 12 home opener against Iowa State.

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The Baylor fans started chanting "Big 12, Big 12, Big 12, Big 12" in the final minute for the Southeastern Conference-bound Aggies. So it was funny in the postgame interviews that Baylor head coach Scott Drew complemented both teams for their outstanding physical play by comparing the game to the defense of an Alabama-LSU football game.

Robert Cessna's email address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com