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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- No. 15 Texas needed a spark in the worst way and Ivan Wagner gave it to them.
Wagner and William Clay each scored 16 points and ignited
sluggish Texas in the second half as the No. 15 Longhorns defeated
cold-shooting Texas A&M for the 13th straight time, 78-51 Wednesday
night.
The Longhorns (10-4, 2-0 in Big 12) returned home at 5 a.m.
Tuesday after losing to No. 5 Connecticut on Monday night and they
started slowly against the Aggies.
"We fed off Wagner's defensive prowess there in the second half to get things started," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "Our
pressure defense opened the game up, no question."
Texas A&M (4-9, 0-2) hit only 17 percent from the field in the first half and the Longhorns still could manage only a 28-23
halftime lead.
Texas built a 39-29 lead with 13:30 to play in the second half
when Wagner's 3-pointer started a 20-5 run that finally gave them
control of the game.
Wagner got busy on defense too with seven assists and five
steals.
"We were struggling and needed something to get us going,"
Wagner said. "The key to our victory tonight was turning up the
pressure on defense. Coach told us to get into the faces of their
guards because they were freshmen."
A&M coach Melvin Watkins had no answer for Wagner.
"Wagner took the ball away from (Jamaal) Gilchrist, so I put
(Andy) Leatherman and he took the ball away from him too," Watkins
said. "Right now our confidence is not very high."
The Aggies haven't beaten the Longhorns since Jan. 12, 1994 and they weren't about to start Wednesday night. Freshman Bernard King led all scorers with 19 points for the Aggies, but A&M shot only 29 percent from the field for the game.
"I was pleased with our defense and rebounding effort in the
first half," Watkins said. "I was not disappointed with our shot
selection, the shots just wouldn't go. In the second half, we got
rattled, made fouls, turnovers and no baskets."
Wagner and Clay each scored 14 of their 16 points in the second half. Texas center Chris Mihm finished with 12 points but had only five rebounds, far below his average of 11.0 per game.
Texas built a shaky 12-8 lead with 10:42 to go in the first
half, but the Aggies used a 10-0 run to take an 18-12 lead with
7:41. The Longhorns closed the half with a 14-3 run to take a 28-23
lead.
The Aggies hit only 5-for-29 from the field in the first half
and still trailed by only five.
Texas freshman guard Roosevelt Brown received NCAA clearance to play for the first time this season. Brown had been working out with the team pending approval by the NCAA to suit up.
Brown, expected to add depth to the Longhorns' guard position, played seven minutes and had six points.
"We were very pleased with our first half but I don't know what happened in the second half," King said.
Barnes was pleased to escape with a victory.
"I thought it was a great team effort and Texas A&M played very hard," Barnes said. "We did a great job pursuing the ball and we
did it for 40 minutes."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Texas Clubhouse
Texas A&M Clubhouse
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