[hursday • February 19, 1998
The Battalion
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ggies match record of futility with
4th consecutive loss, 87-74 to Texas
ggies unable to overcome size
isadvantage in loss to Texas
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By Chris Ferrell
Staff writer
I AUSTIN —You can say it’s just
Stereotype. You can even deny it.
lit last night in Austin, the Texas
bnghorns proved that size really
pes matter.
It was a revelation that became
^infully evident to the Texas
!iM Basketball Team as Texas
bminated the paint to cruise to
187-74 victory over the Aggies at
\e Frank Erwin Center.
UT’s 7-foot freshman Chris
|ihm, who gave the Longhorns
18I-8O win over A&M in College
lation two weeks ago on a layup
|ith 15 seconds left, once again
proved to be more than A&M
could handle. Mihn lead the long
horns with 25 points, 15 re
bounds, and five blocks. It was his
presence under the basket along
with A&M’s inability to finish that
proved to be the biggest differ
ence in the game.
“Oh, he’s a pro,” Coach Tony
Barone said. “He’s going to be a
pro. The thing about Mihm that I
like is offensively, he creates
space against you.
“They have a very nice post-up
game. The balance between what
they do in the perimeter and on
the inside gives them the poten
tial to be a good team.”
The Aggies were outsized from
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RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion
iFreshman Michael Schmidt scored 21 points for the undersized Aggies.
the very beginning.
As has been the case all season,
the Aggies were limited by in
juries. A&M’s starting lineup fea
tured 6-foot-8-inch freshman
Aaron Jack, normally a power for
ward matched up against Mihm.
Senior Larry Thompson con
tributed 14 rebounds and 13
points off the bench, but foul
trouble in the first half limited
what the 6-foot-9-inch center
could do in the post.
“We got in some foul trouble
and I wasn’t really able to play
him physically. The refs gave us
lots of charges.”
The only other Aggies over 6-
feet-5-inches were freshman
guard Michael Schmidt, who
once again showed what an
amazing upside he has with 21
points and three steals and junior
forward Shanne Jones, the team’s
leading scorer. Jones had some
offensive success in the paint,
scoring 14 of his team high 23
points on layups.
By contrast, the Longhorns'
shortest starter was 6-foot-4-inch
Chico Vasquez. Their starting two
guard, 6-foot-9-inch freshman
Luke Axtell, was taller than the
Aggies’ starting center.
The out-manned Aggies, who
only played six players, were
forced to be less aggressive to try
and keep out of further foul trou
ble. This, along with Mihm’s
roaming of the paint, caused
A&M trouble underneath.
“They really rebounded well in
the first half, they really hurt us in
the paint,” Barone said. (Sopho
more forward Nnadubem)
Muoneke, Mihm, and ( junior
Kris) Clack got a couple of easy
baskets and that really hurt us.”
Texas outscored the Aggies
by a margin of 56-36 in the
paint as A&M went 20-for-37
from the lane (9 for 22) in the
second half when Texas blew
the game open). Much of the
Longhorns’ damage during that
run came from underneath on
layups and dunks.
And whether the Aggies want
to admit it or not, size really did
matter in the end.
Jeff Schmidt
Staff writer
AUSTIN — It was business as
usual last night in Austin as the
University of Texas Men’s Bas
ketball Team cruised past a be
leaguered Texas A&M team for
the tenth straight time, 87-74.
The ten straight victories are a
Texas record.
Junior forward Shanne Jones
led the Aggies once again with 23
points. Senior forward Larry
Thompson had his fifth double
double of the year with 13 points
and 14 rebounds. True freshman
Michael Schmidt continues to
come into his own, scoring 21
points on 8 of 15 shooting.
Schmidt is averaging 20 points in
his last three games. The Aggies
also shot a season-low 36 percent
from the free-throw line.
The Longhorns were led by
true freshman center Chris
Mihm, who scored 25 points and
15 rebounds.
The Aggies, who only used six
players, were worn down by the
Longhorns up-tempo game and
depth. They used eight players for
most of the game and emptied
the bench with one minute left.
The Longhorns shot 70 percent
from the floor in the second half,
tying the third highest percentage
under Coach Tom Penders.
The Aggies cut the Longhorns
lead to four points by the end of
the first half, but Texas went on
an 18 to 6 run to start the second
half to put A&M away. The Ag
gies would not get any closer
than 11 points for the rest of the
game. The Longhorns would
::: ■
RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion
Aggies’ Coach Tony Barone had a hard time competing with a limited bench.
‘‘We’re playing with a
limited number of play
ers. They got a lead and
we couldn’t come back.”
— Tony Barone
Men's Basketball Coach
then use there superior depth
and size (see sidebar) to hold on
for the victory.
“I thought we made a great run
to get it to four. The key was that
they (Texas) rebounded well
tonight. We ran pretty well with
them in the first half, but their
depth obviously bothered us in
the second half. We looked a little
lethargic to start the second half,”
Coach Tony Barone said.
“Their inside and outside bal
ance makes them a potentially
dangerous team. They will make
some noise in the conference
tournament if they are shooting
the three with consistency,”
Barone said.
Schmidt saw the Aggies’ lack of
depth as a problem in the loss.
“We’re playing with a limited
number of players. They got a
lead and we couldn’t come back.
They made their shots, we missed
ours,” Schmidt said.
Texas center Chris Mihm felt
the key to the win was the spurt at
the beginning of the second half.
“Coach Penders always em
phasizes to come out strong in
the first five minutes of the sec
ond half. Today we came out fir
ing because we didn’t want an
other close game (in reference to
the first game at Texas A&M),”
Mihm said.
The Aggies were unable to ral
ly the team for a victory follow
ing Barone’s reassignment as
coach. Texas Coach Tom Penders
has grown close 1(5 Barone, and
despite the rivalry, he i^ sorry to
see Barone go.
“I feel for him. I’m sorry he’s
not going to be the coach at A&M.
We go at it as hard as we can when
we play,” Penders said. “I would
like to see A&M have a good pro
gram. The kids on this (Texas)
team have a lot of respect for the
Aggies and it was a said evening to
know that he’s going to be gone.”
With wins Wednesday night by
Iowa State, Missouri, Oklahoma
State and Oklahoma, the Aggies
are still in last place.
The Aggies host Texas Tech Sat
urday with a 12:45 tipoff.
omen’s team shocks Longhorns, 86-68
lharpe’s, Alexander’s double-doubles lead way for Aggies despite 33 points by Texas’ Jackson
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BRANDON BOLLOM/The Battalion
Phomore Prissy Sharpe tallied her 15th double-double of the season.
By Michael Taglienti
Staff writer
The Texas A&M Women’s Bas
ketball Team (7-16, 3-10) defeated
the University of Texas 86-68
Wednesday night at G. Rollie White
Coliseum. The Aggies used their su
perior quickness to dominate a
slower Texas team.
Aggie sophomore forward Prissy
Sharpe hit a three-pointer to tie the
game at 40-40 to end a first half that
saw the lead change hands 14 differ
ent times. The Aggies started the sec
ond half with a 5-0 run to take a lead
they would never relinquish. A&M
outscored Texas 46-28 in the second
half. Sharpe said the difference in the
second half was the team’s pressure
defense, and their will to win.
“I think we just turned up the
heat and they buckled,” Sharpe
said. “We started pressing and we
started getting rebounds. We turned
it on and they folded.”
Texas A&M Coach Candi Har
vey was extremely pleased with
the team’s play.
“I’m as proud of this team
tonight as I’ve ever been in my
coaching career,” Harvey said. “This
is what you dream about. A young
team putting it all together, and tak
ing all that practice and all that hard
work, and making it work for them.”
Texas Coach Jody Conradt was
impressed with A&M’s play.
“I thought A&M played extreme
ly well,” Conradt said. “They did a
lot of things that hurt us, and we
didn’t respond.”
Coming into the game, Harvey
wanted to use the quickness of
A&M’s guards to make up Texas’
size advantage. The Aggies ran a
three-guard offense and pressed
for most of the game, forcing Texas
into 20 turnovers.
“We did what we do best, and
that is run the ball, penetrate, and
use our quickness,” Harvey said.
“We pressed for 40 minutes, and
that is the first time we’ve done
that, and it was very effective. I felt
like it wore them down, and we got
our transition game going a little bit
in the second half.”
Sophomore forward Kera
Alexander said that this win was a
total team effort.
“Every person on our team con
tributed and to have a team win,
every person feels good about
themselves coming out of the win,
and that’s the best way to win. It felt
good because everyone felt like they
contributed something to the game,
and that makes you feel good be
cause you know as a team you beat
them, and that’s the best feeling.”
“Everybody came off the bench
and contributed,” Harvey said. “It
was truly a team win.”
Longhorn senior center Angela
Jackson scored a career high 36
points against the Aggies, but
A&M’s superior perimeter defense
held the Texas guards to 15 percent
shooting (3 for 20) and 10 total
points on the night. Harvey came
into the game wanting to contain
Jackson, and shutdown the rest of
the Texas team. Harvey thought the
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Sophomore Kera Alexander has been hot of late for the women’s team.
Aggies succeeded in this area.
“Jackson had a great game but
Jackson couldn’t beat us by herself,
and that is basically what she would
have to have done tonight because
we did such a great job on every
body else,” Harvey said.
Despite the Longhorns’ height
advantage, the Aggies were able to
keep Texas off the boards. A&M out
rebounded Texas 43-32 in the
game after getting out rebounded
45-27 in a loss to Texas in Austin
earlier in the year.
Sharpe led four Aggies in dou
ble figures including Alexander
with 17 points, junior point guard
Kim Tarkington with 16 points,
and freshman point guard Brandy
Jones with 10 points. Sharpe had
13 rebounds along with her 29
points, giving her 15 double-dou
bles on the season. Sharpe leads
the Big 12 in this category.
The loss leaves Texas at 10-13 on
the season, 5-8 in Big 12 play.
The Aggies’ next game is Satur
day in Lubbock against Texas Tech.