Aggies fall to Sooners in first home loss of 2008-2009

No. 6 Oklahoma defeats A&M, 69-63

By: Patrick Hayslip

Posted: 12/8/08

The Texas A&M men's basketball team suffered its first home defeat in 2008-2009, losing 69-63 to No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday.

The Sooners led the entire game but a late 3-pointer by junior guard Donald Sloan brought the Aggies to within two, 59-57.

"I always think we are going to win," said senior guard Josh Carter. "I don't look at the score if we are down nine to nothing or fourteen to nothing, there is still time. So whenever [Sloan] cut it to two, I thought we were really going to win."

However Sooners guard Austin Johnson hit a 3-pointer to stretch Oklahoma's lead to 62-57. Late free throws by Johnson and sophomore forward Blake Griffin put the Aggies' hopes of a comeback out of reach.

"We didn't rotate the right way," said A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "They did a good job of recognizing a hot player with their best player on one side and we didn't rotate quickly enough. The kid was hot, and he made it."

Carter led the Aggies with 17 points while shooting three of five from 3-point range. Sophomore guard B.J. Holmes had 11 points off the bench while juniors Bryan Davis and Derrick Roland and Sloan scored eight points each.

Oklahoma opened the game with a 9-0 run that stretched to a 19-6 lead. A&M went on an 8-2 run and closed the half trailing Oklahoma by five points at 30-25.

"We were walking on what I like to call eggshells at the start," Turgeon said. "I thought we were really nervous and I don't know why; maybe it was the Blake Griffin deal."

Griffin, Oklahoma's leading scorer with an average of more than 22 points a game and almost 14 rebounds a game, was limited to 16 points and six rebounds against the Aggies, but Turgeon said Griffin meant more to their team by just being out on the floor.

"If you double him or don't double him, he makes you pay because he is so smart," Turgeon said.

Griffin was hampered by foul trouble but Oklahoma responded when Griffin was on the bench.

"For all our guys, this should give them confidence," said Oklahoma Head Coach Jeff Capel. "But the person that should give the most confidence to is Blake because he doesn't feel like he has to do it himself."

Griffin's brother, Taylor Griffin, scored 11 points for the Sooners while Johnson scored a season-high 19 points.

"I'm kind of used to stepping up play and shooting big shots, so I wasn't going to shy down to it when I had the chance," Johnson said.

The Aggies were coming off their first win against a nationally ranked team after beating No. 21 Baylor on Wednesday, but poor free-throw shooting and a slow start against the Sooners hurt A&M's chances of defeating another ranked team.

"The other night the guys just balled. Tonight they were inconsistent," Turgeon said. "I asked the guys what they thought was the difference in the game and they thought the foul line was the difference. I think that and just us not ready to play at the beginning of the game. It could have been different."

Davis said the loss hurt, but felt that there were some positives the team could take away from the game.

"We played them to the wire of the game and we just came up on the short end of the stick," Davis said. "We just need to execute more shots basically, and hit free throws."

Davis missed three out of four free throws in the closing minutes of the game and the Aggies as a team shot 60 percent from the line.

The Aggies will travel to Kansas, Turgeon's alma mater, for a showdown with the Jayhawks on Monday. Turgeon was a player for Kansas from 1983-87 and then served as an assistant coach from 1987-92. Kansas won a NCAA title in 1988.

"We don't have a lot of time to sit around here and sulk; we have to get better on the road," Turgeon said.