Bench helps Aggie men beat Oklahoma State Cowboys

Alex Baird could hardly walk down the hallway to the locker room, teammate David Loubeau had such a lock on him.

Each time it looked like the smaller Baird would escape Loubeau's grasp, the 6-foot-9 senior tightened his grip on Baird, his right arm around Baird's shoulder and a smile beaming from ear to ear.

In the background, the rest of the Aggies whooped it up after a 76-61 victory over Oklahoma State -- something they managed without starting point guard Dash Harris and forwards Khris Middleton and Kourtney Roberson.

"That was probably one of the best feelings I've ever had after a basketball game," Baird said. "I enjoyed that."

Then Baird playfully added: "A little too much touching, though."

Baird had played six minutes in his career and just two this season before Saturday. He didn't score a point against OSU but logged 21 minutes without a turnover while filling in at point guard for Harris, who sat out with a sore arch in his foot.

"It was a pretty surreal moment for me, probably the most insanely awesome thing I've ever done," Baird said. "Honestly, I just wanted to win more than anything because we're down our two best players."

Elston Turner led A&M (12-8, 3-5) in scoring with 23 points but had just four before Baird checked in with 8 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the first half.

"I really went to [Baird] early in the first half to get him some time because I thought we would need him," A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. "I thought Elston was pushing too hard [at point guard]. He was out of rhythm and trying to do too much at times, and when we were able to bump him to [shooting guard], we had a much better balance."

A&M trailed 23-16 when the 6-1 Baird, a senior walk-on from Flower Mound, entered the game for Turner. When Turner returned four minutes later, OSU (11-12, 3-5) led just 25-23.

By the end of the half, the Aggies led 30-29, and it only got better for Baird, Turner and the rest of the Aggies.

Baird started the second half on the bench. He entered with the Aggies leading 40-36, and before OSU could score again, A&M led 49-36 thanks to a followup dunk by Loubeau then seven straight points by Turner, who appeared to be back in his comfort zone with Baird running the point.

"We needed that. It was big," Turner said of Baird's performance. "We've always had confidence in him. I've seen him play for two years. He was just waiting for his time. He finally got it and used the best of it."

Baird finished with three assists, four rebounds and the crowd of 9,027 cheering for him to take a final 3 as the Aggies held the ball to wind down the clock.

He didn't, though, protecting the ball as he had all game.

"He's confident because he prepares himself," Kennedy said. "I didn't know how well he would play or how he would execute. There were some moments in the first half he ran some plays a little bit the wrong way."

Baird wasn't the only Aggie who came off the bench to make a difference.

Redshirt freshman Daniel Alexander went 5 of 6 from the floor for a career-high 11 points, pulled down a team-high six rebounds and blocked two shots. Senior transfer Zach Kinsley tied his A&M high with eight points, and Ray Turner helped turn the tide in the first half with six points, including a breakaway dunk.

In all, A&M's bench hit 11 of 17 shots and finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds. A&M's bench scored just six points in a 64-54 loss at Kansas on Monday.

"I complained about bench scoring last game and it must of worked," Kennedy said. "We got 25 points off the bench, and that is incredible."

Alexander helped put the exclamation mark on it, dunking a pass from Jordan Green to give A&M a 69-56 lead. Green, who also helped hold OSU's leading scorer Keiton Page to 2-of-13 shooting and nine points, then followed with his own dunk on a pass from Loubeau.

"It was cool because we were playing almost like a pick-up game," Alexander said of his dunk. "I pointed up. [Green] saw me. We smiled at each other, and he threw it. It was easy from that point on. That was just kind of a culmination of everything, it all paying off and getting to do something we like, which is playing free and having fun with the sport that we love."

A&M shot 58 percent for the game, its best performance in the Big 12 this season and the best since shooting 65 percent in its 81-59 season-opening victory over Liberty.

The Aggies held the Cowboys to 38 percent from the floor. OSU shot 59 percent in its 79-72 victory over No. 2 Missouri on Wednesday in Stillwater, Okla.

OSU's Markel Brown, who came off the bench to play 36 minutes, led the Cowboys with 19 points. Brian Williams had 14 and Le'Bryan Nash, who scored 27 against Missouri, had 13.

OSU played without starting forward Jean-Paul Olumemi and sixth man Philip Jurick, who sprained his ankle in practice Friday.

Loubeau matched Alexander by going 5 of 6 from the field and finished with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

A&M had more assists (18) than turnovers (13) for only the second time in eight Big 12 games.

"It's one of my better wins," said Kennedy, who has been a head coach for 14 years. "Because when you do the right things, it pays off. That was a big win."

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NOTES -- Baird had just one tick on the stat sheet this season coming into the OSU game: one turnover. ... At one point in the first half, the A&M lineup consisted of Baird, Green, Alexander, Naji Hibbert and Loubeau. Loubeau averages 10.7 points a game, which is 2.4 points a game more than the other four combined. In the second half, A&M had the foursome of Keith Davis, Kinsley, Baird and Alexander, who have a combined average of 4.6 points, on the floor with Elston Turner (averaging 14.3). ... A&M outscored OSU 60-38 in the final 28 minutes.