Recap | Box Score | Notes

Texas A&M 97 - Baylor 87
Reed Arena - College Station, Texas
February 24, 2007

Postgame Quotes

BAYLOR

Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew:
"I thought we did some things well. We scored 87 points and shot 48 percent from the field. That is very good against a tough A&M defensive team. To give up 97 points and to shoot 65 percent from the free throw line, you're not going to win on the road against a top ten team like that. It was not enough to get the win, but at the same time we did some things that were encouraging. Again, credit Acie (Law) and the A&M players for coming up big. Whenever we got close, they always had all the answers. Thats what you expect from an experienced team that is well coached. We have a young team that's had a ton of close games, you only have a few opportunities to play games, you're going to coach them to the end. I'm going to try to get our team better because next time when we play a close game, it may be a five point game, just like Texas. We had a chance to win at the end because we stayed in and competed. We weren't trying to be disrepectful or rude in any stretch of the imagination. We are going to coach our team, and our team's going to play hard until the buzzer sounds."

Baylor Sophomore Curtis Jerrells:
"Everybody brought it. It was a nice game with a nice crowd. Every time we get together we seem to put up a good game. I think we did a good job of playing physically. They have two big guys on their side and I want to credit our big guys for holding them off and playing them tough today. The guys we have are pretty good. Some of them are nursing some injuries. Josh (Lomers), just being a freshman, has been playing some great minutes for us. Those guys are going to continue to get better, and we're going to do our best to get them easy shots. We feel that we're a better team than what our record shows. When things are going downhill like that, and we didn't expect it to, it's positive whenever your team can stay together. I have a lot of respect for my teammates, because we're not doing as well as we expected, but nobody is bickering or arguing. We're trying to just win as many games as possible."

Baylor Sophomore Henry Dugat:
"We have four good guards and we wanted to win. In the beginning, coach talked about winning the game with paint points. For us to do that we were going to have to stay away from the big boys and attack. We did a lot of drives. We have faith in our team, believing that we can hit (free throws). When you get to the line it's about focus. We have to keep fighting. It's what we have to do. It's a great place to play. They have a great crowd and a great team."

TEXAS A&M

Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Gillispie:
"It was a real good win for us. It was an intense game. Both teams played hard. There was a lot of great defense. It was a good win for us. They have a nice team, and they keep getting better. I commend those guys for playing as hard as they did today. They played hard enough to win, but fortunately for us, they didn't. Dominique Kirk makes big shots. I told him, prior to that, if he thought about his shot again instead of catching the ball and shooting, he wasn't going to play anymore. He made two big threes. He's a good shooter, and he's a big shot maker. He's been doing that for three years. You can't think about making a shot, or trying to not miss. He was a little bit hesitant early. I told him if he's out there and he catches it when he's open, he'd better shoot it, otherwise he's not going to get to play. We did a good job of getting the ball inside, and they did a good job of doubling. Our guys threw it out to open guys, and we just have to catch it and shoot it instead of thinking about it. I'm not worried about his confidence, he's one of the toughest guys. When you're as tough mentally as he is, you don't have a confidence problem. They played really well today. They have a lot of really good players. They've been recruiting well, and they gave us all we could handle today."

Texas A&M Senior Acie Law:
"It's just guys out there competing. Whenever you're competing and trying to get a big victory, you can't take things personally. You're just trying to win. Baylor came out and played well, and a lot of credit to them for playing like that on the road. We're fortunate enough to come out with the victory. That's a very talented team, but they're young. We didn't have to watch every single game to know why their record is the way it is. Everytime we play them, its a tough game. They're well coached, and that's a very talented team. Dominique (Kirk) stepped up huge for us tonight. I think early in the second half he had missed a shot, and coach told him not to hesitate, just let it go. We were struggling offensively, and I think they doubled Joe. He kicked it out to Dominique, and he made a big shot. He got confidence and was able to make another one. We had 5 guys in double figures, and that was huge for us. Give them credit for never quitting. A regular team would have given up being on the road in a hostile environment."

Texas A&M Junior Joseph Jones:
"They're a very physical team. They're big inside. It was a regular Big 12 game. Play is very physical in the Big 12. Lomers is a big man, and he plays physical. That's what all big men do."