SPORTS
Page 4
The Battalion
Monday, January 18,
1993
Reports of A&M's
death are greatly
exaggerated
he
members
of Texas
A&M's football
team only
thought that they were facing a tough
opponent when they fell to Notre
Dame 28-3 in the Mobil Cotton Bowl
back on New Year's Day.
Unfortunately for them, the looming
shadow of the NCAA poses a much
bigger danger in the wake of recent
events.
As if the Southwest Conference did not
have a bad enough reputation, the
suspensions of four Aggies before the
Cotton Bowl, most notably tailback
Greg Hill, just made things worse.
Never mind that the charges against
the four players of receiving payment
for work not done have been levied by
still-anonymous sources. Forget about
the relatively harmless nature of those
charges, which A&M has revealed were
indeed factual. And don't even think
about the possibility that A&M's
athletic department has spent the
recent past busting a gut to prevent
wrongdoing in the wake of Jackie
Sherrill and Kermit Davis.
No, all of that doesn't matter, people
say. If the NCAA gets a hold of this
case, the Aggies are headed straight for
the SWC's second football death
penalty. Some even have the A&M
headstone carved and ready.
To put it bluntly, saying that A&M
alumnus Warren Gilbert's payments to
the aforementioned Aggies will lead to
a death penalty is like saying the U.S.
Marines' involvement in Somalia will
lead to another Vietnam War. Jumping
to such a conclusion is either naive,
ignorant, wishful thinking, or a
combination of all three.
Despite the admission of guilt on behalf
of the players involved, there are some
major problems with the entire
situation. The lack of an identified
source is a major blow to the credibility
of The Dallas Morning News, who
See Norwood/Page 6
DON NORWOOD
Sports Editor
Aggies drop
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Anthony Goldwire scored 19 points
and David Diaz added 17 Saturday, lead
ing Houston to an 81-69 victory over
Texas A&M.
The Cougars improved to 9-2 overall
and 2-0 in Southwest Conference play
while dropping the Aggies to 5-8 and 0-
2.
It was the Cougars' fourth consecutive
victory and their seventh in a row over
the Aggies. Houston has defeated A&M
11 consecutive times in regular-season
play.
Texas A&M coach Tony Barone said
that his team never was able to put to
gether a sustained scoring surge against
the Cougars.
"They were able to stop our runs,"
Barone said. "I'm not saying they
stopped them all the time. Sometimes we
did.
"We thought we could run on them.
We have to hit on all cylinders. If we
don't, we have problems."
Houston led 19-17 with 7:25 remain
ing in the first half, but went on an 18-9
run for a 37-26 halftime lead. The Aggies
used a 12-5 rim to pull within 42-38 early
in the second half and later got within 4
points again, at 50-46.
But the Cougars, led by Derrick
Smith's 9 points, pulled away and the
Aggies never got closer than seven
points the rest of the way.
"We acted like, played like and react
ed on almost all situations like a champi
onship team today," Houston head coach
Pat Foster said.
"I think the reason he (Smith) became
open is because they really flared on our
three-point shooters. They were not let
ting us hit any three-pointers. That left
some gaps open inside."
Damon Johnson scored a game-high
23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds
for Texas A&M, while Chuck Henderson
added 15 points.
third straight as Houston rolls, 81-69
Johnson said the Aggies were simply
outmanned.
"They were very physical," Johnson
said. "Charles Outlaw and Derrick Smith
are very good players.They beat us up
inside and Anthony Goldwire hurt us
from the outside.They have five great
players. You can't key on anyone."
Charles Outlaw contributed 16 points
and Jessie Drain 10 for the Cougars.
Goldwire "Goldwire was the key to the
game," Barone said. "He had total con
trol of the game, and is what I consider a
classic point guard."
Texas A&M was without 6-6 freshman
reserve Lance Broderson, who sprained
an ankle in practice on Friday. Reserve
forward Matt Haralson saw extensive ac
tion in Broderson's place.
"There was a spell there in the second
half where Texas A&M got back into the
ball game and had a chance to win,"
Houston coach Pat Foster said. "Howev
er, in the critical situations, our veteran
players ... were ready to take charge.
That was the difference."
Four of Houston's starting five play
ers scored in double figures, with the
other scoring nine points.
A&M is in the midst of a three-game
losing streak, and the road does not get
any easier. The Aggies next matchup
will be in Las Vegas as they take on the
University of Nevada-Las Vegas "Run-
nin' Rebels" at 10:05 tuesday night.
The Rebels have gotten off to an im
pressive start in their first year under
head coach Rollie Massimino. UNLV is
9-1 overall, and currently own the
longest homecourt winning streak with
55 straight victories in the Thomas &
Mack Center.
The Aggies lead 3-2 in the all-time se
ries between the two schools, but the
Rebels have come out on top in the last
two meetings. The two last faced each
other during the 1988-89 season, when
UNLV pounded the Aggies 110-67 in the
Runnin 1 Rebel Roundup in Las Vegas.
ROBERT J. REED/The Battalion
A&M guard Corey Henderson drives the lane against a Houston defender in the
Aggie's 81-69 loss Saturday afternoon. The defeat dropped A&M to 5-8 overall.
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