By ROBERT CESSNA
The Aggies could have played better defense, especially in the second half. They could have rebounded better in the first half. And they could have put the game away after building a 19-point lead just before intermission.
But it’s what the 16th-ranked A&M men’s basketball team did do that mattered most, and it’s nothing new. The Aggies have been doing a lot of things well to win five of six games in 12 days that earned them plenty of national exposure.
“They’ve got a senior-type ballclub, very experienced and they played that way tonight,” UNT head coach Johnny Jones said.
A&M (8-1) played solid defense to turn a three-point deficit into a 29-19 lead, converting turnovers into points by offensively sharing the ball. The Aggies’ front line of Nathan Walkup, David Loubeau and Bryan Davis got in foul trouble while UNT was rallying in the second half by taking the ball inside, but the trio smartly stayed in the game to combine for 12 points and 10 rebounds in the final 20 minutes.
The Aggies kept UNT from getting closer than nine points by hitting 20 of 24 free throws in the second half after not attempting one in the first half. And finally, A&M’s senior leaders — Donald Sloan, Derrick Roland and Davis — each had solid games.
“I thought we had a little fatigue out there in the second half,” A&M head coach Mark Turgeon said. “I was a little concerned about this stretch. So, we fought through it and we beat a team that’s going to win a lot of games.”
You could say that about almost all the teams the Aggies have faced in this stretch. UNT (5-3) is picked to win the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division; Akron is picked to win the Mid-American Conference’s East Division; and Clemson, West Virginia and Minnesota were all ranked when A&M played them.
“The thing I’m pleased about is I thought we got better today,” Turgeon said. “I really do. I thought our execution was better. I thought we shared the ball better. We let down a little bit defensively, but this team has depth and we battled through some things. I think we still have a long ways to go, but to be 8-1 with the stretch we’ve played, it’s a good start.”
UNT was the one getting off to a good start Monday night before an announced crowd of 6,366. The Mean Green hit 6 of 8 field goals and all four free throws for a 17-14 lead.
The Aggies weren’t that bad on offense, hitting 6 of 12 shots, but the defense wasn’t getting enough stops.
That changed as A&M went on a 15-2 run predicated by its defense that forced seven turnovers. UNT managed only four shots during the six-minute, 30-second stretch.
The Aggies did a good job on shot selection in the first half, hitting 18 of 28 field goals, including 4 of 8 3-pointers. A&M scored 13 of its points off 11 UNT turnovers for a 40-25 lead at the break.
“We’re a fast-paced team, we’re going to have to take some chances,” Jones said. “And that prevented us from getting some shot attempts. We shot 50 percent in the first half. If we’d have possibly had some more attempts instead of turnovers, it could have been a different story.”
UNT had only three turnovers in the second half and did a better job defending A&M’s shooters, but had no answer for Sloan once he got the basketball.
Sloan was 10 of 10 at the free-throw line for a game-high 21 points. He had four assists and only one turnover in 34 minutes and was 5 of 8 from the field.
“Sloan was fantastic,” Turgeon said. “I thought he shared the ball and he took over the last four minutes when the ball got in his hands.”
A&M scored on four of its last five possessions, and Turgeon thought a driving Sloan was fouled the time A&M came up empty.
“That’s what good basketball teams do, they withstand runs,” Jones said.
It helps when you’re shooting free throws well. A&M, which was 10th in the Big 12 in free-throw shooting last week, closed out Akron on Friday by hitting 19 of 22 in the second half to move up a spot at .641 for the season.
“We’re actually a pretty good free-throw shooting team,” Sloan said. “We have a few slip-ups every now and then, but I think we shoot free throws pretty well.”
Davis had 15 points, scoring three straight buckets to give A&M the lead in the first half. Loubeau added 12 points as the two were a combined 11 of 16 from the field. Guard Roland added 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
UNT was led in scoring by senior forward Eric Tramiel, who had 17. He was above his season average of 11.8 before halftime. Standout point guard Josh White added 15 points with a couple of buckets late, but he was only 5 of 13 from the field. A&M’s defense swarmed the 5-foot-10 junior, who had five assists in 38 minutes and only three turnovers despite the added attention.
A&M’s next game is Saturday at Houston’s Toyota Center against unbeaten New Mexico.
Notice about comments:
Theeagle.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. theeagle.com cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not theeagle.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Aggiesports.com is proud to offer our users enhanced commenting features. You can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends’ recent posts, add an avatar that fits your personality and more. If you have posted here before you’ll need to sign up again, and if you’ve never posted start now by signing up! If you've already registered for the new comments on www.theeagle.com then just use your Eagle username to log in and start commenting.