COLLEGE STATION, Texas (12/6/05) Texas A&M narrowly escaped with a 72-70 victory over the North Texas men’s basketball team Tuesday at Reed Arena as the Mean Green’s Kendrick Davis fired up a three-point shot that went off the back of the rim as time expired.
Davis hit two free throws with 49 seconds remaining to make the score 72-70 and then North Texas forced the Aggies into a shot-clock violation on its next possession, leaving 13.6 seconds on the clock and setting up the games final play.
Davis finished with 21 points and has now scored at least 20 points in each of the Mean Green’s last three games. Calvin Watson scored a season and team-high 22 points, while Michael Sturns added nine points off the bench.
The first 16 minutes of the game saw eight lead changes and four ties before the Aggies took the lead for good. Trailing 27-26 with 4:09 left in the first half, Texas A&M went on a 12-4 run to close the first half with a 38-31 advantage.
North Texas trailed just 57-59 with 7:58 left in the contest, but the Aggies went on an 8-0 run to open its largest lead at 67-57. However, the Mean Green fought back with an 11-3 run of its own to pull back within two points at 68-70. The Aggies scored their final points on two free throws with 1:03 left on the clock.
North Texas actually outscored A&M 39-34 in the second half, marking the fourth time in five games the Mean Green has outscored its opponent after the intermission period.
The Mean Green was hurt by 24 turnovers that the Aggies converted into 29 points. Texas A&M also made North Texas pay at the line, hitting 29-of-39 free throws for a .744 percentage. North Texas got into foul trouble early in the first half as starters Jeffrey Simpson, Quincy Williams and Calvin Watson all had two fouls each within the first six minutes of the game.
Texas A&M made 38 percent of its shots, while North Texas hit 44 percent of its field goal attempts. The Mean Green pulled down 35 rebounds in comparison to the Aggies 40, but had eight more steals.
TAMU was led by Joseph Jones, who finished with a career-high 35 points and game-high 13 rebounds in 39 minutes of action. Acie Law was the only other A&M player to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points.
North Texas will play the first of five consecutive home games when it hosts
Nicholls State this Saturday at 7 p.m. The Mean Green also plays nine of its next 10 games at the Super Pit, including its first four Sun Belt Conference games.
