12 BIG 12
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Aggies lose second-round heartbreaker
Purdue's E Twaun Moore and Texas A&M's Dash Harris dive for a loose ball in the final seconds of the second half of their second- round NCAA Tournament game on Sunday in Spokane, Wash. The Boilermakers defeated the Aqgies 63-61 in overtime.
By T.D. Durham
The Battalion — Monday, March 22
After a thrilling overtime contest with No.4 seeded Purdue, the Texas A&M men's basketball season came to an end with a 63-61 loss.
The loss brings A&M to a final record of 24-10 for the 2009-2010 season, a season in which A&M became one of only two teams to win an NCAA game in each of its last five consecutive seasons.
Purdue drew first blood after winning the tip, with a jumper from junior guard E'Twuan Moore. Moore led the Boilermakers in points in the first half, with 11.
But A&M Senior forward Bryan Davis brought the Aggies immediately with a three-point play under the basket followed by a bouncing free throw make.
The Aggies out rebounded the Boilermakers 23 to 18 in the first half, with seven coming from Davis.
Freshman forward Naji Hibbert, who was held scoreless in the Aggies' first round game versus Utah State, made a pair of
three-pointers in the first half, his only two shots of the half.
With 8:59 remaining in the half, Boilermaker D.J. Byrd swept sophomore A&M guard Dash Harris' legs out in mid air, sending Harris crashing to the floor.
But Harris would return to the game in time to draw a foul behind the three-point line on the final Aggie possession before halftime. The Los Angeles native sank two of three free throws despite a tender wrist to give his team a 32-25 lead going into the half.
At the start of the second half, A&M built its lead to 11 points after a dunk from sophomore forward David Loubeau. Loubeau scored 12 points and had seven rebounds in the bout.
But the Boilermakers would not lay down, going on a 17-2 run that was spearheaded by senior Chris Kramer. The guard, who had seven points in the streak, finished the game with 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Aggies' mark of 24 wins makes the sixth season that the team has reached at least 20 wins and the third 20-win season in head coach Mark Turgeon's three-year tenure at Texas A&M.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
Red Raiders advance in NIT with win
By Alex Ybarra The Toreador — Sunday, March 21
Through the first half on Saturday, Texas Tech's three leading scorers were not living up to their regular stat line.
But neither was the rest of the team, especially forward Brad Reese, who averages seven points and less than three rebounds a game.
He helped Tech erase an 11-point deficit with 19 points and 10 rebounds — his first career double-double — in a 69-64 victory against No. 8-seed Jacksonville in the United Spirit Arena, advancing the Red Raiders to the third round where they will play Mississippi at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Oxford, Miss.
sippi at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Oxford, Miss.
"I was just trying to go to the rebound," Reese said. "Coach always talking about, Go to that rebound. That's the easiest bucket."
Forward Mike Singletary added 13 points and eight rebounds, guard John Roberson had 14 points and D walyn Roberts fell one rebound shy of a double-
double with 10 points and nine boards.
Tech coach Pat Knight said he's never been a part of such a sluggish first half, as he witnessed the Red Raiders (19-15) miss their first nine shots and fall behind 11 points early on.
Singletary, Roberson and Okorie the team's top three scorers had eight points on 3-of-10 shooting at the half, mirroring the team's overall shooting percentage of 29.6.
A lot of it was because of bad shot selection). A full-court press by the Dolphins (20-13) had Tech scurrying to get its motion offense going, but there wasn't much driving and dishing. It was mainly catching and shooting, with little movement.
"When you come down and dribble around, just pass the ball and jack it up, that's not very good. That's what we had," Knight said. "We had no cutting. We had no screening. It was five guys around the semi-circle, whoever got the ball tried to make a move off the dribble while the other four just stood and watched."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas Tech's Brad Reese, right, pulls down a rebound over Jacksonville's Travis Cohn during the second half of their second-round NIT game on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. Reese finished the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
THE WAVE MARCH 24,2010
By Ass
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN