Sooners Fall to No. 16 Texas A&M 69-51

Oklahoma struggled on both ends of the floor and fell to the Aggies in the conference opener.

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 12:08 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Jan 8, 2011 5:13 PM CDT

Oklahoma Sports Staff

NORMAN, Oklahoma—The Oklahoma Sooners opened Big 12 play with a 69-51 loss to the No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies.

The Aggies (14-1, 1-0) were physical from the get go, taking an early 9-4 lead that the Sooners would never take back.

By the half A&M was up 36-28 on 13-23 shooting from the field.

A&M’s Khris Middleton and Naji Hibbert led the scoring in the first half with 12 points apiece while Andrew Fitzgerald led the Sooners with 11 points and two rebounds.

In the second half OU made a couple runs in to cut the lead to six, but the Aggies continued to push and built as much as a 23 point lead over the Sooners.

Oklahoma (8-7, 0-1) turned the ball over 16 times which A&M turned into 19 points and the Sooners allowed multiple uncontested and wide open shots which really put them behind in the second half.

Fitzgerald finished out the night leading all scorers with 17 points and four rebounds. He was helped by Cade Davis who totaled 13 points and six boards.

One of the largest differences in the two teams is point scored off the bench. Four Aggies came into the game to score a combined 23 points while two Sooners combined for five points.

The other big statistical difference is how A&M outrebounded OU 28-17, pulling down more offensive and defensive rebounds than the Sooners which contributed to the Aggies six second chance points.

Oklahoma will travel to Baylor for a Tuesday matchup against the Bears Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. CST while A&M returns to action Wednesday Jan 12 hosting Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. CST.