The meeting between No. 21 Baylor and Texas A&M on Wednesday lived up to the series' reputation.
After two dramatic meetings in 2008, the teams were prepared for a new chapter in the series when they met in front of 9,537 fans at Reed Arena. Behind junior forward Chinemelu Elonu's double-double, A&M upset Baylor 84-73
The physical nature of the series was highlighted in the first 3:39 of the game as both teams failed to score against tight defenses. Sparks flew with 17:11 remaining when a near fight between the teams was averted after Baylor senior center Mamadou Diene scuffled with an Aggie player.
"Baylor brought fans and we had a lot of fans there," said A&M senior guard Josh Carter. "The crowd got us going early. Both teams wanted to win so bad and we picked it up on the court. It was a good game."
A&M junior forward Bryan Davis broke the drought with a layup but was outdone by Baylor junior guard Tweety Carter when Carter scored a fast-break 3-pointer three seconds later.
Elonu started a strong first half with a layup 39 seconds later. Elonu scored 13 first half points and pulled down nine rebounds.
"If we can get that from him every night, we'll be fine," junior guard Donald Sloan said about Elonu's performance. "He's playing with a lot of confidence right now and that's good."
After Elonu's layup, the Aggies started stretching their lead. After Carter hit a jump shot in the paint for the Bears with 14:40 remaining in the half, Baylor did not come within two points of A&M again.
The Aggies closed the first half with a 9-2 run and held the momentum and a 39-28 lead going into the locker room.
"Normally we're pretty good at closing the half, tonight we weren't," said Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew. "You want to go into the locker room with momentum and that last five minutes is very important."
A&M junior guard Donald Sloan came out firing in the second half, scoring eight of the Aggies first 11 points. Sloan scored 15 points against the Bears, his most since scoring a career-high 21 points against Florida A&M on Dec. 15.
Baylor was better offensively in the second half, making 45.7 percent from the field. However A&M matched most of the Bears' points.
"We did [better] but just a little bit," said Baylor senior Curtis Jerrells, who finished the game with 12 points. "We made a run but we were trading baskets. So it wasn't good enough." Elonu finished the game with 17 points and 16 rebounds. He was 8-for-17 from the field. The game marked his third consecutive double-double and sixth of the season.
"My teammates were looking for me, and I just tried to get every rebound I could," Elonu said. "I knew they were going little and we were pretty big, so I tried to get every rebound I could."
A&M had five players score double-digit points. It was the second time this season. Junior forward Bryan Davis' 17 points was one short of his career high.
The Aggies held on to the lead and finished the game on a 9-4 run. The Aggies' 84-73 win was the first time they have beat Baylor at home since 2007.
"Defensively we had a good game plan," said A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon, who is 11-0 at home in 2008-2009. "Execution-wise, that's the best we have done all season. We have worked so hard at it. Tonight we played probably as well as we have played since LSU, maybe the best we've played all year."
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