Aggies knock out Cyclones
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By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Sports Writer

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Buy this photo Eagle Photo/Butch Ireland A&M's Joseph Jones takes to the air to slam dunk two of his game-high 21 points Wednesday at Reed Arena.

The Aggies started their game Wednesday against Iowa State as if they were in a hurry to get to Lawrence, Kan.

Tenth-ranked Texas A&M matched Kansas' impressive victory over Nebraska on Monday night with a 73-49 rout of the Cyclones at Reed Arena.

Next up for the Aggies are the sixth-ranked Jayhawks on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse with first place in the Big 12 on the line.

A&M moved to a school-best 18-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big 12.

The Aggies scored the first 11 points and led 18-3 before the second television timeout. The run was reminiscent of Kansas' start at Nebraska, where the Jayhawks got off to a 39-6 lead before cruising to a 76-56 victory.

A&M head coach Billy Gillispie said the Aggies weren't thinking about Kansas, adding that they had to worry about executing to beat Iowa State (11-10, 2-5).

"If you're an immature team, this is a perfect trap game," Gillispie said. "I'm so proud of them because of the way they approached the game. They don't look at scores. They don't compare scores. They just try to get ready to play the next game.

"It's good as a coach knowing that your team is going to take everyone seriously. It may not result in a win, but at least you're going to have the right mindset going into the game."

A&M had the right attitude and gameplan against the Cyclones, who packed the middle to try and slow the Aggies' big men.

Joseph Jones spoiled the strategy with three jumpers in the opening minutes, and 6-foot-10 Antanas Kavaliauskas hit a 3-pointer to give A&M a 14-3 lead.

"We wanted to plug up the inside with other post players to see if the bigs could beat us from the perimeter," Iowa State first-year coach Greg McDermott said. "They can beat you up down low, so we thought we had to dare them to take some shots, and to their credit, they made the shots."

The Cyclones' Wesley Johnson kept the game from being a complete blowout in the first half, swishing a couple of 3s, including one with 6:36 left before halftime to make it 29-14. At the time, it gave the Cyclones, who never got closer than 12 points, two more points than Jones had.

A&M led 39-23 at the half, and Jones had 19. Iowa State's Johnson, a freshman from Corsicana, had 13.

Little slowed down Jones. He had a couple of shots rattle in and out, and he got a cramp in his calf during the second half. He had to be taken out twice before finally sitting for good when Gillispie cleared the bench. Jones finished with 21 points, five rebounds and a season-high five steals.

In the second half, the Aggies built a 70-41 lead on a Acie Law IV fastbreak basket from Donald Sloan.

Iowa State had its lowest offensive output of the season. The Cyclones' 31 percent shooting from the floor and 49 points were both season worsts, and they finished with more turnovers than baskets (21-17).

"Some of the turnovers were foolish, brought on by ourselves," McDermott said, "and some of them were forced by playing some big, physical players on their floor with a team that isn't accustomed to that."

A&M outscored Iowa State 25-3 off turnovers. Despite the Cyclones' plan to defend inside, A&M outscored the Cyclones 26-14 in the lane.

Kavaliauskas ended with 13 points as did Law, who also had a game-high seven assists. Josh Carter added 10 points.

Johnson was saddled with his fourth foul early the second half and only played 26 minutes, but he finished with 17 points. Mike Taylor was the only other Cyclone in double figures with 13.

NOTES - ISU's Mike Taylor did not start the game because he was late for the shootaround. It was the first game the junior college transfer had not started this season. ... The Cyclones' 49 points was a season low.