riday, Jans' SPORTS Friday, January 28, 2(XX) THE BATTALION Page 7 "hum! A § s sta Y on road ids drato face Big 12 co-leader Tigers \SHlNCiTON (AP)4 ha\ o become mcrea® 1 in the hunt fi>r novel*? ihe AIDS virus,but#£« iu vime encouraging^ Merck & Co. has ins' umard a long-elusives will take years of add: h to turn the finding® , cation, experts cautxnr he research gives sdtt place to aim at in fip: \ mis, ini[virtant asioc.' .slowly lose their edgo ns in sight, s called tntegrase, s: .•d by the AIDS vimsfa icial step in HIV mfe s 111 V’s genetic mateu in’s own DNAinsidcEt mally h(jackingodkOr ll\ Kcin reproducingr >l\ furious rale, .icntists have loogixx rase s crucial functMEi rate “integrase iriite: vk its etTcet, mudiijj \lDS-fighnng “pras ?rs” block the aetkt:. W enzyme called pr'e tiempts to create ek >rs have failed so &t lerck’s .id\ .ince. repr. edition of the joe® o uncover the cue•: tie's action thatmusA i mtcgra.se mlubrtcrt lerck researches r XK) s.unples m the con of chemicals aid's sounds known as “& ut that spot. In Ubcu unpounds success!/ rase and fought HIV lerck executives refe ad scientist- Dauik ss her discovery wid'r Merck spokespervt h nmds described a Sa in problems tliai j® being pursued as dr. any is hunting betien thcr AIDS research^ ews. i s opened upjlWurg ‘ k cry one knew wis ouf r i no one's beenibktolf •tiiversity’s Dr. JcfficyU r scientist for the As da! ion for AIDS Re®: nee to know it'sdoebk I hex ha\ e now dr odology , which is acn: v eloping drugs agaiss" added Dr. I Xiuglas R- niversity of Calilor i. "It’s very exciting BY JASON LINCOLN The Battalion I The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is not the only pro- ih-am in the Big 12 to make big changes in the 1999-2000 sea son. The Aggies will travel to Columbia, Mo., Saturday to take on the up-and-coming University of Missouri Tigers, one of the Big 12’s hottest young teams. I Tlie Tigers (11-6,4-1 Big 12) have been one of the biggest surprises in conference action, most recently defeating the No. SlUniversity of Kansas Jayhawks by 22 points. I Yet, the Aggies have pulled their own upset of a ranked con ference powerhouse in recent days, upsetting No. 12 Oklahoma State University last Saturday. I Missouri will pose a challenge to A&M's defense. The Tiiiers are currently the highest scoring team in the conference, averaging nearly 82 points-per-game. Missouri also shot better than 50 percent against the Jayhaw ks in their most recent win. I “They seem to have adjusted very well,” A&M men’s bas ketball coach Melvin Watkins said about the changes Snyder hp brought to MU. “And there again, that’s going to be a tough place to go play, just ask Kansas.” I That home court ad\ antage is a huge factor for the Tigers who arc a\ eraging over 10,000 per contest in the Heames Center. I For A&M to be able to play w ith the Tigers in the hostile M issouri environment, the Aggies must be mentally sound go ing into the game. With the w in over OSU and a narrow loss to Iowa State University in Ames, A&M has some expanded confidence in their performance ability. I “Our mechanics are still not what they need to be and we an. still making some mental mistakes,” Watkins said. “We have to eliminate some of those mental mistakes, and part of that is because we are still a very young team.” I The Aggies will stay with four tme freshmen in their line up as Watkins looks to build the experience of the school’s fu ture banner players. The lineup includes Andy Slocum at cen ter. Tomas Ress at forward, with Bernard King and Jamaal Gilchrist at the guard slots. B The Aggie freshmen are on their way to playing consistent Big 12 basketball, but the final game in the two-game road Aggies host Red Raiders SALLIE TURNER/ I HI Battalion A&M senior forward Aaron Jack dribbles around an Oklahoma State University defender. stretch will make it difficult for A&M to get some positive re inforcement before returning to College Station. Missouri is not taking the Aggies for granted, despite their inconsistency and record. “They've been playing well,” Snyder said about A&M. “They beat Oklahoma State who is one of the top teams in the league and one of the top in the country. “Coach Watkins is a great coach. I le'll have his guys ready to go. I think his guys are finding themselves right now.” BY REECE FLOOD The Battalion The Big 12 Conference portion of the Texas A&M women’s basketball sched ule has been filled with challenges and close calls so far this season as the Ag gies have gone 1-6 against conference opponents, 9-8 overall. Things will not get any easier for the Aggies when the lOth-ranked Universi ty of Texas Tech comes to Reed Arena for a 2 p.m. showdown on Saturday in which the Aggies are hoping to end a fe