By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Columnist

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If anything good came out of Texas A&M's agonizing five-overtime loss to Baylor, it was sophomore forward Bryan Davis' breakout game that can only pay dividends for the Aggies down the road.

Davis, getting his second consecutive start, had 30 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs. But it was more than the numbers, which were obviously inflated somewhat by the length of the game and the 45 minutes he played, 16 more than his previous career high.

With Joseph Jones fouled out and Josh Carter struggling from the floor, Davis became the go-to guy on the offensive end, often times working in tandem with guard Donald Sloan.

Davis played 23 of the 25 overtime minutes, during which time he had 17 points and eight rebounds.

Sloan had the dunk that sent the game into the first overtime, but the possession before, Davis drove to the hoop to pull the Aggies within two. Davis duplicated the move for the final basket of the second overtime. And, in the first overtime, he kept the ball alive on the boards for Kirk to come in and get the putback that forced the second overtime.

By that time the Bears were operating with a thin front line. But Davis was the player taking the initiative, which until Wednesday was not a part of his job description while playing with teammates like Acie Law IV, Antanas Kavaliauskas, Joseph Jones, Carter and Dominique Kirk over the past two years.

Davis scored half of the team's 10 points in the third overtime and again drained the game-tying basket in the final seconds of the fourth overtime.

Sinking 7 of 8 free throws during those final 25 minutes couldn't hurt his confidence either.

Davis also was one of a few to stay out of foul trouble (eight players fouled out), which has been something he's struggled with in the past (see the Texas Tech game, where Davis collected four fouls in 19 minutes while scoring just 6 points).

With Davis on the floor, the Aggies are a much better defensive team, a better passing team and really don't lose anything rebounding-wise. He also leads the team in blocks.

Defensively, coach Mark Turgeon can match Davis up against most post players and some small forwards. He's not Marlon Pompey, but he's the closest thing the Aggies have to that now.

Davis handles the ball well for a big guy, although sometimes the 6-foot-9, 255 pounder probably makes Turgeon's heart skip a beat when he's rambling down the court. He sees the court well and is a clever passer when outside the lane. Davis has had a few no-look assists that would make any guard proud and is very good at making the final pass on the fast break.

The next step for Davis to elevate his game is to learn to make the pass while in the blocks. If he gets the ball down low, it's usually going up. That's not always a bad thing, especially when he has the advantage like he did late against Baylor. But Davis will find that he will draw more attention, and one way to avoid that while working down low is to find open teammates.

The Aggies don't need Davis, who averages 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, to be the first or second option, but they need him to build on the Baylor game.

Options are never a bad thing, particularly since Turgeon's offense is geared toward getting everybody to contribute.

• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.

A&M BASKETBALL

NO. 18 TEXAS A&M AT OKLA. ST.

WHEN/WHERE: 1 p.m. Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla.

TV/RADIO: ESPN, Ch. 27/WTAW, 1620 AM

RECORDS: Texas A&M (15-4 overall, 1-3 Big 12), Oklahoma State (10-8, 1-3)

TEXAS A&M-OKLAHOMA ST. STARTERS

TEXAS A&M (15-4 OVERALL, 1-3 BIG 12)

NAME POS. HT. WT. CLASS PPG RPG

Dominique Kirk G 6-4 185 sr. 8.0 *4.0

Donald Sloan G 6-3 205 so. 9.3 3.9

Josh Carter F 6-7 200 jr. 13.5 4.1

Joseph Jones F 6-9 255 sr. 11.4 5.4

Bryan Davis C 6-9 250 so. 8.5 4.8

OKLAHOMA STATE (10-8, 1-3)

NAME POS. HT. WT. CLASS PPG RPG

Byron Eaton G 5-11 215 jr. 9.6 *3.1

Terrell Harris G 6-5 190 jr. 11.7 3.3

James Anderson F 6-6 195 fr. 15.6 3.3

Marcus Dove F 6-9 215 sr. 10.9 5.9

Ibrahima Thomas C 6-11 238 fr. 5.4 3.9

*assists per game

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