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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1990)
: The Battalion I SPORTS Thursday, January 25,1990 9 Sports Editor Richard Tijerina 845*2680 h lowed ct ttdowut top-iii diovaso. Heine to n prove t :ankin a as not i id theme J Profes T 'artnerd the lin E.T ( ; Univeis- facilities- nee. Ik ocomplf. mi 89 nt Kevii nfire'c nse froc (four..; meeting ie conn| s he ant ■nt lead te proS ire. mendet >n then duceai rowdi- compli ir gooc locatint causec > Streei, itituting ire ate leetinj. Itycom- ng into Alan Lehmann Sports Writer Jan. 25: Let’s have a quick Shelby recap ell, it seems that the Shelby Metcalf incident is finally over. I’ve been blasted with opinions supporting both sides. I haven’t “sided” either way because I believe that neither side was jusified in airing their disagreements in the media. In case you missed any of the incidents leading up to Metcalf’s dismissal, here’s a quick re-cap: • Spring 1987 — Shelby Metcalf’s Aggies win the Southwest Conference tournament and advance to the NCAA Midwest Regionals. A&M falls to Duke in the first round, but former Athletic Director Jackie Sherrill gives Metcalf a contract through the 1991 season at $77,000 per year. The move would allow Metcalf to qualify for full teacher’s retirement pension. • Spring 1987 — According to a Dallas Times Herald story published last Saturday, Associate Athletic Director John David Crow, an A&M graduate and Heisman Trophy winner, told boosters that one of the first things he would do as Athletic Director would be to fire Metcalf.' • December 1988 — Sherrill resigns as Texas A&M Athletic Director. Crow replaces him. Metcalf’s Aggies lose seven-of-eight conference games. • 1987-90 — Home attendance falls at A&M basketball games. Crow reportedly repeats his intent to fire Metcalf at a booster club function in Houston. • January 1990 — At the NCAA Convention in Dallas, Crow reportedly makes more derogatory comments about Metcalf to other athletic.directors. • January 20 — In the Dallas Times Herald story, Metcalf publicly lashes out at Crow, saying that he “is out to get me.” Metcalf also accuses Crow of “cussing” him publicly and trying to ruin his career. Crow issues a statement through A&M’s Sports Information Department, denying the allegations and saying he doesn’t intend to act on the issue until after the season, when routine coach evaluations occur. A&M loses to Arkansas that day. In a post-game press conference, Metcalf a! new j See Lehmann/Page 10 ‘Ijust wish Coach Metcalf could have been here for us to come together’ Ags stuff Owls in emotional, 89-82 win Photo by Phelan M. Ebenhack A&M senior guard Tony Milton converts a slam dunk in the second half of Wednesday night’s 89-82 win over Rice. Milton finished with 20 points. Thornton gains first victory as interim coach By RICHARD TIJERINA Of The Battalion Staff Texas A&M’s 89-82 victory over Rice was the result of one of two things. Either the Owls weren’t quite as good as their 4-1 Southwest Conference record said they were, or the Aggies were a little better than their 2-3 mark. Oh yeah. The Aggies also were playing some inspired basketball for an old friend. Prior to the game in a locker room meet ing, senior guard Tony Milton told the Ag- ies to win the game for former coach helby Metcalf, who was relieved of his head coaching duties Monday by Athletic Director John David Crow. John Thornton, Metcalfs assistant coach since 1981, was named interim coach for the remainder of the season. Milton said the Aggies were pumped up. t showed. “I sure hope Coach Metcalf was listening tonight — we did it for him,” Milton said. “This is my last year and I don’t feel it was He’s going to be listening to every game. Some way, somehow, he’ll be there. I know I felt him out there tonight.” — Lynn Suber, A&M guard right to do Shelby like that. I took it hard. But Coach Thornton is a great person. He told us to come out and play hard. “We did.” What an understatement. The Aggies jumped out to a nine-point lead midway through the first half, as they suddenly found the two things that had been missing all season: offense and defense, working to gether. A&M had been down by as much as seven, but then came storming back. Junior guard Freddie Ricks made a twisting layup and was fouled by Rice’s Chip Scott. Ricks made the free throw and the Aggies tied the score at 27. The two teams virtually traded baskets from then on. The Aggies got a big spark when junior center David Harris and Ricks came in for senior forward Ray Littje and freshman guard Brooks Thompson, with II minutes left in the half. Milton, who finished with 22 points, made a driving layup through heavy traffic to give the Aggies a 37-32 lead, but Rice’s D’wayne Tanner hit a 20-foot three-point shot to cut the lead to two points. With the score tied 39-39, senior forward Darren Rhea hit a three-point shot from the right side to give the Aggies a 42-39 lead. Thirty seconds later, junior guard Lynn Suber, who led the Aggies with 22 points, hit another three-pointer to put A&M up, 45-39. A&M led 45-41 at the half, and Thorn ton told the team to relax and play loose the rest of the game. But Suber said Metcalf was on everyone’s mind, and the Aggies re sponded with an even bigger effort. With the Aggies up 50-45, Suber threw up an alley-oop to a streaking David Harris. Harris responded with a thundering dunk that sent the G. Rollie White Coliseum crowd of 3,193 into a frenzy. One minute later, Milton stole the ball and ran the length of the court for a layup to put the Aggies up by nine, matching their biggest lead of the game to that point. The Owls came back on successive shots by Tanner and Marvin Moore, the second a three-pointer that gave the Owls a one- point lead, 55-54. Their lead didn’t last. Suber hit a short baseline jump shot, and Rhea connected on a dunk to put the Ag gies up, 58-55. Then, the Rice fans started getting into the act, chanting “Shelby.” All that accom- lished was to Further inspire the Aggies, pecifically, Suber, who put on a one-man exhibition during the next minute. Suber hit a 21-foot three-pointer to put the Aggies up by four. Nine seconds later, Milton dished off to a wide-open Suber on the right side. He canned" another three- point shot to give the Aggies a 64-59 lead. The Rice mns continued chanting “Shel by.” But Suber wasn’t finished. He hit another three-point shot to give the Aggies an eight-point lead. Rice Coach Scott Thompson called a time out, but it was too late. Suber’s three-point display would prove too much for the Owls to come back from. Suber’s effort came at the right time. With the Aggies up by nine early in the sec ond half, the Owls ran off 10 unanswered points to take a one-point lead. But they would never lead again. Brooks Thompson blocked Rice guard Dana Hardy’s short jumpshot, and passed to a wide-open Milton. The 6-0 guard scored on an impressive dunk. Twenty sec onds later, Rhea slammed a behind-the- back dunk to give the Aggies a 73-64 lead. The win evened the Aggies’ record to 10- 10 overall, 3-3 in the SWC. It was their first conference win in four games. After jump ing out to a 2-0 conference record, A&M lost to Southern Methodist, Texas and Ar kansas. But Metcalfs removal inspired the team. And though no one said the Aggies have dedicated the rest of their season to Met calf, Thornton did tell the team before the game not to forget who got them here. Suber said the team would not forget the former coach. “He might not be there physically, but I know Coach Metcalf will be there mental ly,” Suber said. “He’s going to be listening to every game. Some way, somehow, he’ll be there. I know I felt him out there tonight.” Thompson, who finished with five oints, said he was happy Thornton won is first game as interim coach. “He was put in a really awkward situa tion,” Thompson said. “But he responded well. We were very motivated tonight. We wanted to get the win for Coach Metcalf and Coach Thornton.” Thompson said it was the team’s best ef fort of the season. However, the Aggies must travel to Houston this weekend for a Saturday mat chup with the Cougars. Thornton said some kind of an emotional letdown should be expected for the game. Thornton said he was worried about the Aggies’ effort before Wednesday’s game because of the emotions surrounding the Metcalf situation. But he said he was pleased with the way the team played. “If we could get that effort, we knew we would be all right,” Thornton said. “It was a real team effort from the' word go. We came up with offensive rebounds all night and put some shots back in in the second half. “The guys played their hearts out.” Thompson agreed, saying the team seemed to come together for the first time all season. “Tonight there was a team attitude,” he said. “We all went out there as a team. Five as one. We didn’t care who scored the points as long as we won. We were so emo tional. We had a lot of inspiration and a lot to prove to A&M and ourselves. “We’ve become a lot closer as a team the past two days. 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