x: Section B
rts 2B, 3B; Classified 4B; Opinion SB
]rsda\ November 30, 2000
Sports
SB
Page IB
THE BATTALION
Redeeming performance
Texas A&M men rebound from humbling loss with rout
CODY WAGES/Tm: Battalion
rd Aaron Jack pulls down a rebound in the Aggies' 79-46 win over Mor-
wn Wednesday. Jack finished with eight points, nine rebounds.
By Blaine Dionne
The Battalion
When the Texas A&M men’s basketball
team lost to Birmingham-Southern by 20 points
Sunday night, coach Melvin Watkins was livid.
His team had just lost to a program that had nev
er won on the Division I-A level.
He called a 5:30 a.m. practice the next day
after questioning his team’s character. He de
clared it a turning point in the season and said
his team could either spiral into a losing streak
or begin putting the pieces together against the
Morris Brown Wolverines.
The Aggies chose the latter as they trounced
the Wolverines Wednesday night in front of
2,833 fans at Reed Arena, 79-46.
Watkins said after the game he was pleased
with the way his team responded to the chal
lenge, but it still has a long way to go.
“Was tonight the turning point? No — but
it’s in the right direction,” Watkins said.
“Tonight was a by product of the practices that
we’ve had. We came out and did some things
that, had we done them against Birmingham-
Southern, I think the outcome would have been
different.”
“Was tonight the turn
ing point? No — but it's
in the right direction.
Tonight was a by prod
uct of the practices that
we've had”
— Melvin Watkins
Texas A&M men's basketball coach
The outcome was looking a little shaky after
the first half as the Aggies went back and forth
with the Wolverines, with A&M leading 29-19
at the break.
But when the Aggies came out for the sec
ond half, they seemed to gain new life. They
went on scoring runs of 10, nine and 12 to ex
tend their lead to 68-37.
Watkins said his players needed the point
breakout in the second half to make a statement
for themselves.
“What we wanted to do was forget about the
scoreboard,” Watkins said. “Let’s come Out
and see if we can continue to play with intensi
ty as a team and execute. Let’s see if we ^an
pick it up another notch. I thought we did a pret
ty good job of that tonight.”
The Aggies’ defensive play seemed to kick-
start them in the second half. They collected
seven points off turnovers and 11 steals on the
night.
A steal got the crowd into the game after two
minutes of play in the second period.
After stealing the ball for an easy two points
on a layup, forward Carlton Brown decided to
mix things up a little.
Stealing the ball in transition, Brown had a
clear view to the hole and slammed the ball
home. In the process, he kept the Aggies’ first
scoring run alive.
Guard Andy Leatherman led the Aggies in
scoring with 15 points, followed by guard
Bernard King, who chipped in 14.
A&M also upped its efforts on the boards,
pulling down 39 rebounds, more than doubling
its dismal 17 against Birmingham-Southern.
The Aggies’ performance at the charity stripe
See Redeemed on Page 3B.
D-
ie
3f
y-
/e
th
?e
le
rd
a
it
v-
:h
12
st
ht
le
13
st
VI
i-
i-
*n
s-
ildcats hope to rain on Sooners’ parade
fice,
utlets
414
m
nts
Hall
■Dine Dionne
'attalion
For those of you who might have
jssed the first game, the No. 8
ansns State Wildcats and the No. 1
kl|ioma Sooners will face off Sat-
da\ in the Big 12 championship
ime, a rematch of their October
ime that helped propel the Sooners
the top spot in the polls.
This time the stakes are a bit high-
, though. A Big 12 championship
id a possible Orange Bowl trip for
enational title is in the works for the
Sooners if they can pull out a win, but
the Wildcats would like nothing more
than to min that for OU.
KSU was knocked out of the na
tional picture by the Sooners in that
October loss, and coach Bill Snyder
said his ’Cats will be ready to play
Saturday.
“We’re pleased to have the oppor
tunity to play in the Big 12 Champi
onship,” Snyder said. “It’s a tremen
dous opportunity to play the No. 1
team in the country.”
Oklahoma pinned 385 total yards
of offense and 41 points on Kansas
State in October. Snyder said he will
do his best to prevent such a loss from
happening again.
“We won’t make wholesale
changes,” Snyder said. “But whatev
er we do, we’re going to have to do it
better than we did.”
Oklahoma has been slumping
since its October charge, when it beat
three consecutive opponents ranked in
the Top 10. The Sooners hit bottom
last week against their cross-state ri
val, Oklahoma State.
OSU, with only one win in the Big
12 this year — against Baylor—held
the usually high-powered Sooners to
12 points' a miserable performance
against any foe.
Oklahoma’s coach Bob Stoops
vowed his team would be ready to
take on the Wildcats.
“We don’t need to make any ex
cuses (about OSU),” Stoops said. “We
found a way to win that football game.
“We’re excited about it (Big 12
Championship Game). It’s another
game, so let’s go have fun with it.”
FILE PHOTO/Thk. Battalion
Kansas State c, erback Jonathan Beasley, shown here against the
Aggies, will try ead his Wildcats past No. I Oklahoma on Saturday.
going home to the
DALLAS/ FORT WORTH
METR0PLEX FOR THE
HOLIDAYS???
UPS HH5 IMMHWl OPENINGS TO
DRIVER HELPERS
MOST PE 18* YEARS OF AGE
WILLING TO MEET OPS PRlVER APPEAR
ANCE GOlPELlNES
ARE TO WORK IN All WEATHER CONDITIONS
MOST PE APLE TO LIFT 70 IPS.
LOST BE AVAILABLE FOR WORK 12-11 THROUGH 12-
15 AND 12-18 THROUGH 12-22.
lOPER SATURDAY ORIENTATION DECEMBER 1.
IH0RRY AND RESERVE YOUR SPOT NOW///
*
OPS PAYS
$8.50/ H00R PL0S A
H00 P0N0S
*
MESQUITE
I-OTS-W0RK-0PS
PFW AIRPORT
T72-456-4T32
WWW.J0PSATUPS.COM
• FT. WORTH
SI7-347-3I5?
NORTHWEST PAUAS
Here's the next best thing
to calling mom.
Call us.
The College Station Family Medicine Center
is just what mom ordered.
Our doctors will spend the time to get
to know you and truly care about your well
being. We have hours to fit yours and we're
open Saturdays for your convenience.
Don't sit around feeling bad. Call
College Station Family Medicine Center for
an appointment. We'll take care of you.
Just like mom.
COLLEGE STATION
B4/fau/
MEDICINE CENTER
Call for an appointment 979-693-2586
Office hours: Sam to 7pm M-F 9am to 12pm Sat
1602 Rock Prarie Road
College Station, Texas 77845