Chinemelu Elonu returned to a standing ovation. He didn't disappoint.
Elonu had to visit the locker room after he was knocked to the floor on an intentional foul by Elbryan Neal. He came back a few minutes later to help lead Texas A&M to a hard-fought 57-52 victory over a determined McNeese State squad on Saturday at Reed Arena.
Elonu had a dunk seconds after making it back to the court, but the biggest points of his game-high 15 came at the free-throw line with 14 seconds remaining to give A&M (13-1) a 56-52 lead.
"Chin came down pretty hard and bounced back. He hit his head," A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. "He's played well for a long time now, since the Alabama game [Dec. 13]."
Elonu was fouled after pulling down a miss by Donald Sloan for one his team-high seven rebounds, four of which were on the offensive end.
"I mostly just wanted to show coach I'm not soft, because when I go down in practice he always says us Texas boys are soft," Elonu said. "I just wanted to show that I'm going to give my all no matter what happens."
The 6-foot-10 Elonu had to play big with Bryan Davis in foul trouble the entire game and with McNeese's 6-11, 300-pound Kleon Penn making his presence felt over the 36 minutes he put in. Penn had 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 10 rebounds and seven blocks.
"He's a big dude, so I was trying to do my all to try and stop him from scoring," Elonu said. "He played a good game, got to give it up to him. He's real strong, knows how to swivel and when gets to the basket he knows what to do with it."
Penn was also partially responsible for getting Davis in foul trouble.
Penn kept the Cowboys (5-7) in the game, but it was an 0-for-9 shooting streak by the Aggies near the end that helped McNeese rally from a nine-point deficit to tie it at 52 with 3 minutes, 20 seconds left.
Josh Carter ended the streak with a long jumper to put A&M up by two with 2:29 remaining.
"I was glad to rattle one in," Carter said. "I knew we wouldn't give up points in the stretch, so with the two- point lead I felt comfortable and then when it was four I knew we would not give it up."
Carter had 13 points and was the only other Aggie to finish in double figures.
After two free throws by Diego Kapelan knotted the score at 52-52, the Aggies shut McNeese down on its last four possessions. Kapelan had 15 for the Cowboys in his first start.
"We played as well as we can play," McNeese coach Dave Simmons said. "They say this here and I know about the 12th Man, and I thought that was the difference. It was [late] for us to get into our sets and the point guard couldn't hear so we missed some opportunities at the end."
Down 20-18, A&M went on a 14-0 run to take control of the game. Five different Aggies got on the board during the 7-minute span. It might have been six, but Carter shot free throws for Derrick Roland, who had to leave with an injury after getting knocked to the floor by Neal and didn't return.
David Loubeau hit a jumper, Carter the free throws, Chinemelu Elonu a jumper, B.J. Holmes a 3, Nathan Walkup a layup on a fastbreak and, finally, Carter finished with a 3.
A sixth Aggie, Dash Harris, came in and assisted on three of the baskets. Harris dished out a career-high five assists for the second straight game.
The Cowboys had seized the lead behind the outside shooting of Kapelan and the inside play of Penn. Kapelan had 10 points, including two 3s, and Penn was a perfect 4 for 4 in the opening 20 minutes.
"[Guarding Penn] was a team thing. The guys didn't listen to the scouting report, a concentration thing," Turgeon said. "The last thing we wanted to give them was over-the-top layups and that's what we did."
During A&M's run, Penn was not getting many touches. When he finally did battle for position he was called for an offensive foul.
"Not our best effort, but give McNeese a lot of credit," Turgeon said. "I know we're 13-1, but we play well when we have to and I want them to play well all the time."
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NOTES -- Turgeon said Roland, who has had trouble with a shoulder, hurt his hip and elbow. ... McNeese State assistant David Dumars is the brother of Joe Dumars, who was an All-American at McNeese State and a key player for the Detroit Pistons. David Dumars also played football for John David Crow at Louisiana-Monroe. ... Another Cowboys' assistant, T.J. Marcum, graduated from A&M and was director of basketball operations in 2003-04. ... A&M is 3-0 against the Southland Conference, beating Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston State and McNeese State all at Reed Arena.
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