Eagle Staff Writer
The talk after Texas A&M dropped a third straight Big 12 game Saturday was about getting the team back to playing Aggie basketball. Team meetings, individual meetings, players-only meetings -- all of it pointed to the general consensus that the Aggies needed to come together as a team.
They did that Wednesday night.
In a 98-54 pasting of Texas Tech in front of 10,032 at Reed Arena, A&M head coach Mark Turgeon went to his bench early and often, rewarding players who'd practiced well this week. That included seldom-used Beau Muhlbach and Derrick Lewis, who entered the game early in the first half.
The result of the moves, along with some renewed confidence from behind the 3-point line, led to a 56-point first half for A&M. The Aggies have been held under 56 points in an entire game four times this Big 12 season, including at Texas Tech last month.
And the 44-point margin of victory was A&M's biggest since beating Texas by the same spread (73-29) in 1959.
"I told [the players] that the guys who are going to defend the best in practice are going to get a chance to play," Turgeon said. "I thought we had nine guys who really defended well in practice, and I wanted to get them in.
"I also told them I'm going to start the five guys who defend the best in practice. DeAndre [Jordan] and Joe [Jones] were the best by far."
With the win, the Aggies (21-7, 7-6 Big 12) remained in a fourth-place tie in the Big 12 with Baylor, which beat Colorado 68-57.
Tech (15-12, 6-7) entered the game in a four-way tie for fourth but dropped to sixth along with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Jones, who has been a fixture in the starting lineup, and Jordan, who hadn't started since Tech beat A&M in Lubbock on Jan. 16, carried their practice intensity into Wednesday's game. The duo helped the Aggies dominate inside on both ends of the court, with A&M outscoring Tech 36-14 in the paint.
Jones made all five of his shots from the floor and finished with 13 points, while Jordan added eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Turgeon's decision to play Muhlbach and Lewis paid dividends.
Muhlbach had a career-high nine points and four rebounds in 15 minutes, while Lewis contributed three points, three rebounds and two assists in 17 minutes. Lewis had played only 11 minutes all season and hadn't been in a game in more than a month, sitting out nine straight games since Jan. 19.
Muhlbach and Lewis helped A&M's bench outscore Tech's 40-16. And that wasn't the only way the Aggie reserves contributed.
"It gave us a sense of togetherness," Turgeon said of the bench's involvement. "The guys were cheering for each other. I don't know how many times the referees told our players to sit down tonight. He said, 'I'm going to have to give them a technical if they don't sit down,' and I said 'Well, give them one.'"
The referees could've warned Turgeon as well. The first-year Aggie coach was much more animated on the bench, especially in the first half.
"I've been a wimp all year," Turgeon said. "I usually average about three to four or five technicals a year, and I haven't been close to one. I can't explain it."
On Saturday, A&M lost at home to Nebraska 59-54, and Turgeon says that loss -- A&M's third in a row -- sparked something inside him.
"I felt like on Saturday I didn't do my job," he said. "I felt very inadequate. I just wanted to let the guys know that I'm there. I have to do better than what I was doing."
A&M put the game away in the first half, shooting 62 percent from the floor and 40 percent from 3-point range.
Dominique Kirk hit 3 of 4 treys in the first half and five for the game to lead A&M with 16 points. Donald Sloan drained 2 of 3 from behind the arc in the first half, which ended with the Aggies leading 56-29.
"I want to apologize to our fans," Tech coach Pat Knight said after his first chance to coach against the Aggies. "We didn't compete from the tip to the end. I don't count the second half because the game was over at the half."
Early in the second half, Knight kicked freshman forward Mike Singletary off the bench and sent him back to the Tech locker room.
"If you're going to sit there and pout and not cheer for your teammates, you can go sit in the locker room," said Knight, who is 3-4 since taking over for his father Bob Knight. "I'm not a baby sitter, and I'm not sitting there messing around. I am the head coach now, and I don't care how bad the score is. You have to be there for your teammates."
A&M did more on the offensive end than shoot well. The only turnover the Aggies had in the first half came on a charging call on Sloan. A&M finished with eight turnovers, five below its average.
Sloan was a big part of the execution, turning the ball over only twice while dishing out six assists and adding 12 points in a team-high 25 minutes.
Tech called a timeout after A&M went up 5-0 on a Jordan dunk and Kirk 3-pointer, but the closest the Raiders could get was 15-12.
• Richard Croome's e-mail is richard.croome@theeagle.com.
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