Texas A&M hasn't made 3-pointers with any consistency all season. That doesn't stop the Aggies from taking them.
The stubbornness paid off Saturday in a 78-71 victory over Baylor.
Keyed by B.J. Holmes' key three 3-pointers late, the Aggies (17-6, 6-3 Big 12) overcame a 12-point first-half deficit to deny Baylor (17-5, 4-4) its third consecutive victory.
``In the first half I was rushing my shots a little bit,'' Holmes said. ``In the second half, I just rhythmed up, put some air under them, and they went in.''
Bryan Davis scored 22 points to lead Texas A&M, who trailed most of the game until it was able to rally behind Holmes' 3-pointers.
Texas A&M, the Big 12's worst 3-point shooting team, stayed true to form for most of the game, finishing 4 of 18 from behind the arc. But Holmes, a 5-foot-11 junior, made 3s with 5:19 and 4:52 remaining to bring the Aggies within one point each time.
The Aggies, who won their third straight, took the lead at 65-64 on a free throw by Davis with 3:21 remaining, and Donald Sloan the went 7 of 8 from the free throw line over the final 3:02. Holmes came through again from long range with 1:31 remaining, when his 3-pointer gave A&M a 72-66 lead.
Sloan finished with 20 points for the Aggies, who entered the game shooting 64.4 percent from the free-throw line.
``Who said we couldn't make free throws?'' A&M coach Mark Turgeon said, smiling.
Sloan could.
``We put a lot of work in this week,'' Davis said. ``We had guys coming up here late at night to shoot free throws.''
From a few feet farther out than those free throws were taken, Holmes came through again with 1:31 left in the game, when he hit a 3 to lift A&M to a 72-66 lead.
LaceDarius Dunn led the Bears with 23 points.
``The 3-pointers ignited them,'' Baylor coach Scott Drew said of Holmes' late baskets. ``If he doesn't hit those, then everything is fine.''
Bears guard Tweety Carter entered the game averaging 17 points, but was held to 10 on 4 of 13 shooting from the field. Baylor forward Ekpe Udoh scored 19 points, but only five of those came in the second half.
``They were playing the same defense on me,'' Udoh said. ``I just didn't stay as aggressive as I should have been.''
Baylor played a zone defense for most of the game, which gave the Aggies fits over the first 9 minutes of the first half, as they scored only six points in that span.
``I was over-coaching early,'' Turgeon said. ``I had our guys so messed up. I finally got out of their way and we started playing better.''
The Aggies, in good shape to make a fifth consecutive NCAA tournament following a 3-3 start in the Big 12, were coming off an inspiring comeback victory at Missouri on Wednesday, which snapped the Tigers' 32-game home winning streak.
``What a week for us,'' Turgeon said. ``We beat two really good teams.''
