Texas A&M
(#11) Texas
Aggies Fall at No. 11 Texas, 77-57
Feb 18, 2004 | Men's Basketball
February 18, 2004
Brandon Mouton scored 20 points and Kenny Taylor hit four 3-pointers in the key second-half run to lead No. 11 Texas past Texas A&M 77-57 Wednesday night.
Texas hit just one 3-pointer before Taylor's shots, and the Longhorns (18-4, 9-2 Big 12) turned a tight game with the Aggies (7-15, 0-11) into an easy win.
Jesse King had 12 points and nine rebounds to lead A&M, which has lost 11 straight.
P.J. Tucker added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Longhorns, who stayed within a game of league-leading No. 7 Oklahoma State with the win.
Tucker was 5-of-5 in the first half with 10 points and Texas hit 12 of its first 16 shots to take a 29-19 lead. It would have been more if not for eight turnovers. The Longhorns didn't record their first assist until Edgar Moreno found Royal Ivey under the basket for a layup with 6:15 left in the first half.
The miscues kept A&M close and the Aggies held Texas scoreless over the final 3:31 as the Longhorns missed their final seven shots before the half ended with Texas leading 29-24.
Texas turned it over on its first two possessions of the second -- once when Kenton Paulino wasn't looking for an inbounds pass from Tucker-- and Acie Law scored eight straight points as the Aggies pulled within 33-32 but couldn't take the lead.
Texas finally started to take better care of the ball and the shots started falling again.
James Thomas hit a layup, Ivey scored twice and Taylor hit a pair of 3-pointers in a 17-6 run that opened up a 52-38 Texas lead. The first was a gift as Mouton was stripped of the ball in the lane and it spun out to Taylor for a wide open shot from the left wing.
Taylor wasn't done, hitting two more quick catch-and-shoot 3s that opened up a 64-40 lead. He finished with 18 points.
Mouton, who scored a career-high 29 last week in a loss at Iowa State, was 8-of-13 from the floor. Texas outshot the Aggies 54 percent to 37 percent and won the scoring in the paint 34-22.
