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February 5'
Monday, February 5, 2001
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SAUNDERS
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Sports in Brief —
Red Raiders beat
gs in Lubbock
The Texas A&M women’s bas-
etball team suffered its third
traight Big 12
loss Saturday
io the No. 9
lexas Tech Lady
iaiders, 92-79.
Senior for
ward Jaynetta
launders once
igain led the
aggies (12-8,
!-7) in scoring
nth 23 points.
Tech was led by sophomore
forward Pienette Pierson who
rad 25 points and 14 rebounds.
^Equestrians have
;ood show at LSU
The Texas A&M women’s
questrian team had another
trong showing this past week-
nd at the Louisiana State Uni
versity show.
Oklahoma State won the first
how with 36 points and tied for
first in the second show with
host LSU.
I The Aggies finished second in
[he first show with a total of 35
points afid took third in the sec
ond show with 22 points.
The Aggies broke away from
the pack and now stand alone in
the lead in Zone 7 with 188 over-
pit points.
racksters finish
rd, 6th at meet
The Texas A&M men's and
omen’s track and field teams
look third and sixth place, re
spectively, Saturday at the Hous
ton Indoor Classic.
The men finished ahead of
top-ranked Arkansas with six
second-place finishes.
The women followed the
strong finishes of All-American
Meshell Trotter, as well as
sophomores Robyn Burkhardt
and Melissa Gulli.
uesttoiM"
Sports
THE BATTALION
Sooners shoot down Aggies
OU excels from free-throw line in 72-63 victory overAgs
By Jason Lincoln
The Battalion
The Texas A&M men’s basketball
team’s marathon run is over.
Facing the Big 12’s elite teams in
the last eight games, the Aggies start
ed the conference season on a down
ward slide.
Saturday’s 72-63 loss to No. 24
Oklahoma marked the turning point
of the Aggies’ schedule and their
performance.
A&M (6-15, 0-9 in Big 12) outre-
bounded and outshot Oklahoma (17-
4, 6-3), forcing the Sooners to post a
perfect 16-of-16 performance from
the free-throw line in the second half
to outlast the Aggies.
A&M shot 47 percent and grabbed
32 boards, including 15 on the offen
sive glass that led to 16 second-chance
points.
Oklahoma shot 46 percent but post
ed only 23 rebounds — 12 of which
came on the Aggies’ side of the floor.
“I look at the rebounding and our
shooting percentage,” said A&M
men’s basketball coach Melvin
Watkins. “There’s not much more we
can do with that. I can’t be too disap
pointed in that. Every game is a tough
game for us right now. We almost have
to play perfect basketball, and that’s
tough for us.”
Oklahoma played a far-from-flaw-
less game but survived its rebounding
woes with its performance on the free-
throw line.
The team’s leading rebounder in its
five-game winning streak, Nolan
Johnson, failed to post a single board
despite scoring 11 points.
It was Aaron McGhee who stepped
up big, leading the Sooners’ scoring
charge for the first time since the last
meeting against the Aggies.
McGhee scored 22 points. J.R.
Raymond scored 17 and Hollis Price
posted 10.
“I was just more aggressive
tonight and I made some shots,”
McGhee said.
Sophomore guard Bernard King
led the Aggies with 18 points while
freshman forward Nick Anderson and
sophomore forward Keith Bean post
ed 10 each.
Anderson fouled out with five min
utes remaining. Bean came off the
bench to post his 10 and team-leading
six rebounds. Watkirts gave freshman
center Nolan Butterfras his first start
on Saturday, in a plan to try to keep
Bean out of early foul trouble.
The strategy worked as Bean
played 22 minutes and had just two
fouls. Butterfras scored six points.
Oklahoma’s ball control kept the
Aggies’ hot hands in check. The Soon
ers turned the ball over just seven times.
“I really liked the way we took care
of the ball and made free throws,”
said Oklahoma men’s basketball
coach Kelvin Sampson. “If you can do
those two things consistently, it makes
it a lot easier.”
A&M forced Oklahoma to play the
perimeter. The Sooners took 24 of
their 48 shots from 3-point range,
making just eight.
But it was not enough, as the Ag
gies could not muster the offense to
pull in front of the Sooners.
“We fought back, but we just don’t
have enough yet to overcome some of
those things,” Watkins said.
A&M will face Baylor on Tuesday.
The Bears are the first team with a los
ing record in league play the Aggies
have faced in eight games.
BERNARDO GARZA/The Battalio#
A&M freshman forward Nick Anderson goes up for a shot against t
the University of Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday at Reed Arena. *
BERNARDO GARZA/Tm: Battalion
The Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team
defeated the SMU Mustangs, 145-91, on Saturday.
Ags swim past SMU in final home match
By Jeremy Brown
The Battalion
High school swimmers from the Texas
Association of Private and Parochial
Schools (TAPPS) were in attendance
when the No. 4 Texas A&M men’s swim
ming and diving team competed against
No. 19 Southern Methodist University on
Friday.
Instead of the high schoolers learning
something, it was SMU that was schooled.
A&M won nine of 13 events to defeat
SMU, 145-91. A&M jumped out to a 57-
17 lead by winning four straight events —
the 400-yard medley relay, the 1,000-yard
freestyle, the 200-yard freestyle and the 50-
yard freestyle — to start the meet.
“I expected it to be a little closer,” said
A&M men’s swimming coach Mel Nash.
“They matched up against us very, very
well, but the two races that totally turned it
were the 1,000 and the 200 free.”
In the 1,000 freestyle, A&M scored an
upset as sophomore Patrick Dideum de
feated SMU’s Steve Barnes by swimming
a career-best time of 9:17.71 seconds.
In the 200 freestyle, A&M was impres
sive with senior Devin Howard, senior Al
fred Mansour and junior Patrick Kennedy
finishing first, second and third, respec
tively. Howard’s winning time of 1:38.13
was an A&M record.
“That shocked them [SMU] a little bit
and then you come back in the 200 and go
1-2-3 in what is traditionally one of their
strongest events and one of our weakef
events,” Nash said. “I think that kind of set
them back on their heels.”
A&M junior Riley Janes swam thd
fastest 100-yard backstroke time in the
nation during his leg of the 400-yard med^
ley relay.
Besides breaking the A&M record in the
See Swim on Page 101
;ntpjir
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Liberal Arts Career Week
Tonight: Resume Writing Workshop
7:00 p.m.
Rudder 502
Tuesday, February 6th: Interviewing Workshop
7:00 p.m.
Rudder 502
Wednesday, February 7th: Networking Workshop
7:00 p.m.
Koldus 111
Thursday, February 8th: Alumni Forum
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Reed Arena
Social
8:00 - ? p.m. Reed Arena
Friday, February 9th: Career Fair
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Rudder Exhibit Hall
www.lasctamu.com