4B
A&M 69 - KU 66
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Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Freshman forward Darrell Arthur and sophomore forward Julian Wright attempt to block a shot from Texas A&M center Antanas Kavaliauska. Wright brought down 10 rebounds and had two blocks total for the game.
Texas A&M 69, Kansas 66
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2007
Texas A&M
Kansas-
Texas A&M
30 39 — 69
Kansas
35 31 — 66
Texas A&M—
Carter 3-7 2-2 11
Kavalliauskas 2-5 3-5 7
Jones 4-11 0-10 0
Law 9-18 4-5 23
Kirk 4-7 0-10 10
Sloan 1-2 2-2 4
Muhlbach 0-0 0-0 0
Davis 2-3 0-0 4
Weishuhn 0-0 0-0 0
Elonu 0-0 0-0 0
Pompey 0-1 0-0 0
Totals 25-54 11-14 69
Wright 4-10 3-4 11
Kaun 1-4 0-2 2
Robinson 3-6 2-2 8
Chalmers 4-8 0-1 8
Rush 3-13 3-4 10
Arthur 2-6 0-0 4
Collins 6-9 3-4 18
Jackson 1-1 3-4 5
Totals 24-57 14-21 66
Aggies end South's streak Texas A&M celebrates victory on Kansas court
Kansas 19-4,6-2
Texas A&M 19-3,7-1
BY MARK DENT
Before the reporters surrounding Acie Law could even brainstorm a question, the Texas A&M guard spoke up.
RECORDS
"I would like to apologize to Kansas for the way we acted when we won the ball game," he said. "That was really disappointing. We really let the emotions of the victory get the best
Law was sorry for not showing enough class when he rushed in front of the crowd and flaunted his jersey, but he wasn't apologetic for leading the Aggies down the
"I would like to apologize to Kansas for the way we acted when we won the ball game."
ESPN analyst Digger Phelps started dancing to "Brick House", appearing bored with a game that seemed finished.
Then GameDay turned into Law and Order. Aggies Donald Sloan and Joseph Jones made quick baskets to shave the lead to six. On Kansas' ensuing possession, Law stole the ball and capitalized with a jump shot.
stretch in its come-from-behind 69-
66 victory. Law had 23 points and
seven assists in Saturday's game.
If it wasn't for Law, the Aggies wouldn't have been able to reach any milestones. With six minutes and 42 seconds remaining, the postgame celebration had practically already started.
Texas A&M's victory gave it aile possession of first place in the Big 12 Conference. To top it off, it was the Aggies' first victory against the Jayhawks in 12 attempts, and also the first-ever victory for a south team at Allen Fieldhouse.
The jayhawks withstood an Aggies surge and led 62-52, the Kansas crowd was extra hyped because of College GameDay and
"Kansas is a great team," Law said. "We were able to get something done that no other Texas A&M team was able to do before, and we just got it done tonight."
After another Jayhawk turnover.
ACIE LAW Texas A&M guard
Law received the ball off an inbounds pass and was covered in the corner by sophomore guard Brandon Rush. Rush shied off of him slightly, giving him enough room to bury a long three-pointer, which gave his team the lead and later the victory.
"Rush just laid off me a little bit," Law said. "We were down two and I feel like he thought I was going to drive it, I just took it as a good
Law drove past his defender in the lane, gently tossed it off the glass while being fouled, and made his free throw to make it 64-61. The Aggies tied it with one minute to go, but
Kansas regained the lead on a layup by sophomore forward Julian Wright. Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie called a time-out.
"It was his game at that point," Gillispie said about Law. "I called for something else in the time out, and he said he wanted the ball in his hands. And I said, 'You're the coach; you got it.' He probably be a better coach than I am because that was really smart. He wanted it, got it and performed with it."
opportunity to go for the win. The team that we are, on the road, back against the wall. Why not go for it all? My teammates have confidence in me to put the ball in my hands, and I came through for them."
Saturday wasn't the first time Law had given his team a victory with a late shot. Last year against Texas, he stroked a long three-pointer as time expired for a 46-43 victory. He said his go-ahead shot against Kansas was better.
Law battled injuries earlier in the season but broke out in December against UCLA. Since then he's increased his scoring average from about 13 points per game to 16.6 points per game.
Gillispie said he was also being more aggressive. If not for Texas' Kevin Durant, he would likely be a shoe-in for Big 12 Player of the Year.
"He's not afraid to make plays," Gillispie said. "He can make plays off the dribble; he can make plays off the catch; he can make plays at the rim. He's a very difficult guy to guard."
Three years ago, Texas A&M finished 0-16. Now the Aggies are atop the Big 12 at 7-1 and are in position to win the conference after beating the Jayhawks in their only match-up.
"This is special," Law said. "This is one of the bigger victories, but this is still midseason. We still have a long way to go. Coach always tells us we got to handle the highs and lows in conference play, but this one feels really, really good."
Kansan sportswriter Mark Dent can be contacted at mdent@kansan.com.
Darmell Jackson, junior forward, looks at half court at the Texas A&M team celebrates their win over Kansas. The Aggies had a 17-4 run at the end of the second half. This was the first victory for Texas A&M against Kansas in the history of the series.
Amanda Sellers/KANSAN
Freshman guard Sherron Collins drives to the bank
Darnell Jackson, junior forward, struggles to take half. Karson lost to Texas A&M, 69-66.
Fans certainly got their money's worth out of this game. How many games include a technical foul, dive time-out, three-second violation, five-second violation, shot-clock violation goaltending, two jump balls, a bloody nose, an alley-oop and a big man making a three-pointer?
Not to be overlooked is how loud the Allen Fieldhouse crowd was throughout the game. In the final three minutes, the building
Yes, Texas A&M's celebration was excessive and uncalled for, but I'm willing to overlook it. This is the biggest victory for the program in at least a decade, and it was an emotional, hard-fought game. Acie Law's emotions got the better of him, and he apologized for it within minutes of the game's end.
view from press row.
Bill Self can't say it, so I will:
The technical foul given to Kansas in the second half was baloney.
The team and coaches were reacting to a charging call that they thought the officials missed. In a
My biggest concern about this Jayhawk team is that they can play too many styles of basketball well. We've seen them run with running teams and grind it out with physical teams, but rarely do the Jayhawks force a tempo on the game. By letting other teams play the way they want to, Kansas gives them a level of comfort.
became so noisy that Texas A&M coach Billy Gillespie had to yell in the ears of his players to make himself heard. It's the sort of home-court advantage that makes other schools jealous.
Michael Phillips
Upsets like Kansas State defeating Texas and Colorado defeating Oklahoma State are fun to watch, but are going to end up costing the Big 12 Conference when the tournament rolls around. The perception nationally is that the Big 12 is weak this year, and when two of the conference's marquee teams lose to big underdogs, that's not going to help. Kansas and Texas A&M will both make noise in the tournament, and Texas will go as far as Kevin Durant takes it, but nobody else in the conference can be considered a serious contender right now.
physical game like Saturday's, you have to expect coaches to lobby on behalf of their players.
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