Texas A&M's last nonconference game won't do much to get the Aggies ready for Big 12 competition, but it was another win.
The Aggies will take an impressive 14-1 mark into conference play after defeating the North Dakota Fighting Sioux 76-62 in front of an announced crowd of 6,066 Monday at Reed Arena. The Sioux ran a lethargic but efficient offense full of backdoor screens, something the Aggies will see only against Colorado and perhaps Texas Tech at times during the Big 12 season.
"That's hard for us [defending the Princeton offense], and then they started playing five guards which made it harder," Turgeon said. "I tried to keep our conventional lineups in there and play a certain way so we can get better but it wasn't a great game for us, probably wasn't a smart schedule."
After getting out to a 20-11 lead, A&M was never seriously threatened but again was unable to ice the game until much later. The Sioux finished the first half with a flurry, outscoring A&M 8-0 over the final 2 1/2 minutes of the period.
"I was proud of our guys, they came in and battled," North Dakota coach Brian Jones said. "A lot had to go well for us to be in the game and it did. We shortened the game and limited possessions."
The Sioux also made their 3-pointers and free throws to counter getting beat badly on the boards (34-23).
North Dakota made 9 of 20 shots from behind the arc and 11 of 13 free throws, but it wasn't until midway through the first half that the Sioux pulled down their second rebound.
The Sioux, at one time, had assists on all but their first nine baskets. But they also turned the ball over nine times in the first half while running down the shot clock on each possession.
"I thought we guarded well until I subbed on the last media timeout of the first half," Turgeon said. "Then they have a guy hit two 3s that hasn't made one all year. Teams have been doing things like that against us."
Derek Benter was the player Turgeon was talking about, and his 3s kept the Sioux in the game longer. Benter, a 6-foot-8 center who is North Dakota's tallest player, had only attempted two 3s coming into Monday's game.
Benter's second 3 closed the gap to 37-33, but the Sioux just did not have the talent or size to sustain a run against the Aggies, who got another good game out of 6-10 Chinemelu Elonu.
Elonu had 13 points and 11 rebounds, five of which were at the offensive end. He matched the entire North Dakota team in offensive rebounds.
"All it is is playing hard, giving it all I can so we can win," Elonu said of his seventh straight solid game. "It all starts in practice."
The Aggies also got a boost from B.J. Holmes, who started for the injured Derrick Roland. Holmes kept up with the Sioux's long-range shooters, making 4 of 8 from behind the arc and both of his free throws for 14 points.
"I've never lost confidence in my shooting," said Holmes, who made one 3 from at least 25 feet out in the first half. "On that one, Coach drew up a play for me and said the middle guy had been sagging back so to let it go."
Josh Carter struggled from long range but still scored a game-high 18 points, making all but one of his five 2-point attempts and going 4 for 4 at the free-throw line.
Donald Sloan had 14 points and four assists, and his layup with just more than 7 minutes remaining gave the Aggies their biggest lead at 56-38.
The Aggies again got good time out of freshman point guard Dash Harris, who had six points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals in 20 minutes.
"Dash has been good since coming back from Christmas break, running the team," Turgeon said.
North Dakota had six players score at least eight points, led by 5-11 Travis Bledsoe's three 3s and 13 points.
Darius Joseph set up most of the Sioux's outside shooters, posting seven assists. Travis Mertens finished with 11 points, seven of which came from the free-throw line.
"I think the Big 12 starting has got to help us," Turgeon said. "The building was quiet and their wasn't a lot of energy out there [from the players].
"You see how hard we played against LSU and Alabama, and then how hard we played tonight was frustrating to me. We'll see how good we are [in the next few weeks]."
*
NOTES -- The temperature outside Reed was only in the high 30s at game time, but the Sioux probably didn't mind. It was minus-3 in their hometown of Grand Forks, N.D., at tipoff. ... Roland sat out because of an elbow injury he suffered Saturday against McNeese State. ... It took until midway through the second half for North Dakota's rebounding total (13) to top either its assists or turnover numbers.
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Posted by: AgsRule! On: 1/7/2009
Comment Title: Saturday
If we can just beat OkieState on the road Saturday, that will get us off to a good start, because we have a brutal January Schedule. Go Ags!
