Sports ember 11, HAPPY Hi rue cor IS IN 77 ...wru. THB Page 4 The Battalion Friday, December 11, Everything you wanted to know and then some T hank God this semes ter is draw ing to a close. It's time for the final rundown of semester-end vi gnettes and quips provided with loving care by your resident lame duck: So, Texas A&M is destined to play Notre Dame in the Cot ton Bowl. Lest CHRIS WHITLEY Sports Editor we forget the last time these two teams met in the same venue — the Aggies romped, 35-10, in 1988. How- then, it ever, back then, it was Notre Dame who didn't want to play A&M in Dal las. For his team's sake, R.C. Slocum should hope his troops don't develop a similar attitude. And by the way, to me, it's the Cot ton Bowl Classic. Just because some oil company puts down a truckload of money doesn't mean I'm calling it something else. Now, if they'd like to send me a check. I'll call it anything they want. I can't help but remember sitting in California watching the Aggies win their season opener, 10-7, over Stan ford and hearing one of my fellow Batt colleagues saying, "A close victo ry won't matter when you're unde feated in December." Little did he know. Should the Aggies win, let's get them and the winner of the Sugar Bowl together on, say, January 9 to play a real national championship and ask Ross Perot to foot the bill. Defensive coordinator Bob Davie might be the hottest head coaching commodity around right now. Baylor is just one of many places that are smart enough to think that Davie can See Whitley/ Page 5 Aggies Outlast South Alabama, 85-7 Edwards pours in 24 points to pace A&M to its first victory of the seaso By DON NORWOOD Sports Writer of THE BATTALION Texas A&M beat the University of South Alabama at their own game Thurs day night, using offensive pressure both inside and outside as well as clutch free throws in the second half to earn their first victory of the season, defeating the Jaguars 85-77. The opening win of the season for the Aggies, who up their record to 1-2, proved to to be a big one. With star forward Damon Johnson in foul trouble most of the game and fellow big men Brett Murry, Lance Broderson and Corey Henderson fouling out in the second half, the question of who would be able to step up and fill the void had to be answered. That answer was three-fold, as guards David Edwards, Tony McGinnis and Chuck Henderson each finished with more than 20 points. So how important was this win in the face of such odds? To hear A&M head coach Tony Barone describe it, you might think the game had been played in late March instead of early December. But one should probably excuse him for being so excited about what most people around the country might view as your ordinary, every-day basketball game. "I can't tell you how proud I am of this team," Barone said. "For our basketball program, this is as big a win as we can have right now. This is not that big around the country. But for Texas A&M, this is a big, big win." The way the game started out, it looked like it would be an even bigger win for the Aggies. A&M opened the first half with a 10-1 run, as Chuck Henderson drowned two treys and a two-pointer, making South Alabama head coach Ron nie Arrow unhappy. "We did not dig down on defense like we should," Arrow said. "We were standing around at first and let them open up a lead." Chuck Henderson's long-range accura cy, evidenced in his 21 points and shoot ing 57 percent from beyond the three- point line, was just a matter of taking ad vantage of Edwards' quick passing, he said. "David gave me some really good passes," Henderson said. "I just took the shots. "I felt like if I kept shooting (they would keep falling). Coach Barone just told me to keep shooting." Although the elder Henderson stayed hot from the outside, the Jaguars were able to tie the score 38-38 at the half. But that turned out to be the only part of the game where the Jags capitalized on their size advantage. "They (South Alabama) were very big inside, and they hurt us early on the in side," Edwards said. "But, we knew we had nothing to lose in this game." McGinnis played with that no-holds- barred attitude, victimizing South Alaba ma's inconsistency in the paint for 23 points, most of which were scored on layups. McGinnis's biggest shot came with 8:43 left in the game, when Edwards fed him inside for a dunk that sparked the rest of the team to hang on despite the foul problems. "I was surprised (that they gave me the inside)," McGinnis said. "I was get ting the ball inside, so I kept taking the shots." Edwards, who led all scorers with 24 points and finished with 11 assists, said that McGinnis's dunk might have been the final nail in the Jaguars' coffin. "When Tony Mac got that dunk, everybody just surged," Edwards said. "Me and Damon have been doing a lot of the scoring this year, and this shows you what can happen with out team if our other players step up like Tony and Chuck did today." Barone especially praised Edwards and McGinnis, two players whose output will be needed as opponents try to keep taking away the Aggies' inside threats. "I have not had a kid in the past two years who came out and played with the kind of fire he (McGinnis) did," Barone said. "He (Edwards) has got to do the kinds of things he did tonight." See Barone/ Page 5 ars was I throw Hr r and pla e hit 14 stripe, me final 10 i bama's harm tf ease in fo n additii th Alabar Jmtinued I Sum their h letter enjoy Is this tJ H lotball tear 1 escribed a jHer? Predictio ks will no the Aggie One sav Sophomore Guard Tony McGinnis slams home two Alabama's Alonzo Mitchell as Aggie teamrrtate Lance RICHARD 6. JAMES/Hum I ear s battle of his 23 points over Soy! le " two p e Broderson looks on. match th MIC will pt nd Howdy, Ags! We heard your cry for better service! Please take advantage of our two new options which will help eliminate our lines in the spring: For Spring Mail-Out. For the first time students who pre-register for parking permits or bus passes prior to December 17, 1992 will receive them at their home address during Christmas break. Please verify home addresses with Admissions and Records. Early Issue. Parking permits and bus passes for the Spring semester will be available at the January price December 10 - 22, 1992 at the PTTS main office, Room 118, Student Services Building. Bnly oon If Spring Mail-Out or Early Issue do not meet your needs, don’t fret! Permits and bus passes will be available January 4- 13, 1993 at the PTTS Main Office during regular office hours. Permits and bus passes will be available January 14 - 26, 1993 in the lobby of Rudder Tower. All student transactions (with the exception of Parking Garage permits) will be handled at Rudder during these dates! The charge for permits and bus passes will be added to student fees. If you are on the Fiscal Department’s installment plan, the cost will be divided evenly on each installment. This o\ opp B M Af E> wc Parking permits and bus passes purchased in the Fall are valid through the Spring semester. If you will not need your permit or bus pass for the next semester, return it now for the best refund! 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