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Carter, Texas A&M cruise past Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Dec 17, 2007 - 12:01 AM COLLEGE STATION, Texas (Ticker) -- Texas A&M was not able to match the offensive explosion it had the last time out. It hardly mattered.

Josh Carter scored 16 points as the 12th-ranked Aggies cruised to an easy 64-37 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sunday.

Derrick Rowland added 12 points for Texas A&M (9-1), which captured its 41st consecutive win at home against a non-conference foe.

While the Aggies had no problem extending their streak, they did not come close to the scoring output they had the last time out in a 109-73 victory over Texas State on December 8.

Four players were in double figures in that previous matchup as Texas A&M scored its most points since putting up 114 against Florida International on December 21, 1989.

While the Aggies were able to tack on another win, coach Mark Turgeon did not see much value in this game compared to the last one.

"I thought Texas State really helped us because they pressed us and we had to run our press offense," he said. "Tonight there might not have been a lot of value in this one."

Carter and the Aggies did start strong in this one, connecting on 13-of-26 (50 percent) of their shots in the first half en route to a 30-19 lead at the break. Carter had 10 points on 5-of-7 from the field.

Texas A&M was also clicking on the defensive end, holding Arkansas-Pine Bluff without a point for the opening 9:47 of the contest. The Golden Lions missed their first 11 shots en route to shooting 19 percent (6-of-31) before the break.

"At the start of the game, then pretty much the second half until we subbed late, I thought our concentration was great defensively," Turgeon said.

Texas A&M continued its stellar shooting after the intermission, making five of its first six shots. Carter had a pair of 3-pointers during that span as the Aggies used a 14-2 run to grab a 44-21 lead with just under 16 minutes to play.

The run eventually finished at 20-2, with Bryan Davis scoring the final four points to make it 52-21 with 10:14 remaining.

Similar to the first half, Arkansas-Pine Bluff struggled to make shots early, missing 15 of its first 16 attempts out of halftime.

"Coach said that we are making our strides on defense," Carter said. "At halftime, he told us to pick it up, continue to play defense and that is what we did."

With the Golden Lions (4-6) unable to crack 30 points until six minutes left, the Aggies emptied their bench en route to ending up with their lowest point total of the season.

Davis had seven points and tied a career high with nine rebounds for Texas A&M, which finished 48 percent (27-of-56) from the field and held a 49-33 advantage on the boards.

Marcelle Goins scored 14 points and Larry Williams 12 for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which shot 21 percent (13-of-63) in having a three-game winning streak snapped.