On Feb. 16, 2005, Texas A&M lost to the Texas Longhorns in Austin, 75-40. Sophomore guard Acie Law IV led A&M in scoring that day with 9 points. Saturday, the No. 16 Aggies, 20-5, lost 59-54 to Oklahoma State, 13-12, at Reed Arena. Law was again in the spotlight in the loss, but not because he played. It was just his day.
Saturday was "Acie Law IV Day," to commemorate the difference he made for the A&M basketball program during his four-year tenure. Law, a point guard for the Atlanta Hawks, was honored at halftime in front of 13,584 people, and a banner of his jersey was hung on display to a standing ovation.
"It feels good to be back home," Law said as he addressed the crowd. "I want to thank the students. You guys got crazy and loud, and helped turn A&M into a basketball powerhouse. This banner is going up today, and hopefully soon we can put up a national championship banner."
There was concern going into the game that A&M would struggle, not only because of the distraction the event would cause but also because of the week out of action. A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon said he was not expecting the result after having a good week of practice. He said it was all Oklahoma State.
"Give them credit, they were really good," Turgeon said. "No one got in rhythm. [Oklahoma State] came in here, played aggressively and made shots."
After leading for the majority of the first half, the Aggies came out flat in the second half, turning the ball over and allowing the smaller Cowboys to collect offensive rebounds. The Aggies were limited to six field goals and 30 percent shooting in the second half after shooting 56 percent in the first. Oklahoma State jumped out with a 9-3 run to take a 4-point lead.
The Cowboys lost leading rebounder Marcus Dove because of foul trouble with 13 minutes remaining in the second half. They managed to out-rebound A&M, one of the top rebounding teams in the nation, 32-27.
"I thought it would be tough [without Dove]," said Oklahoma State Head Coach Sean Sutton. "Not only because of his rebounding, but because he's our best defensive play. A&M might have the best front line in the conference, besides maybe Kansas."
Oklahoma State withstood A&M's comeback and maintained the lead for most of the second half. Senior forward Joseph Jones had 13 points on 6-8 shooting.
"They got every loose ball," Jones said. "We weren't aggressive and we paid for it."
With under a minute remaining and the Cowboys leading by two, A&M forced a turnover and drove down on a fast break. Sophomore Donald Sloan appeared to be wide open to tie the game underneath the basket. Cowboy Terrel Harris flew in to block Sloan, who went up for a layup instead of a dunk. The block effectively ended the game, as the Aggies were unable to recover.
"I had already counted it," Turgeon said about the game-tying opportunity. "We gave back a few layups down there at the end. We have been making those shots, but today we didn't."
The win was the first road victory for the Cowboys in 19 attempts. The streak started two years ago in College Station. Byron Eaton, who was a freshman the last time the Cowboys won on the road, had a game-high 17 points.
"I'm sorry we messed up this day for them," Eaton said. "But it was a great thing for us to stop that streak that we had. Going into a Top 25 team's house and winning, that's not easy."
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