Elston Turner only a month removed from dropping 40 points on Kentucky scored a Reed Arena record 37 points against Ole Miss, leading Texas A&M to a 69-67 victory Wednesday evening. The senior guard finished the night 7-for-10 from beyond the arc and shooting 65 percent from the field, including a game clinching shot with 16 seconds remaining.
Elston scored 12 of the first 14 points for the Aggies, making the assist for the other two. After the game, Elston said it was nothing like his career-best game against Kentucky, but that it felt good to make shots.
“It didn’t really feel like Kentucky,” Elston said. “I have just been in a shooting slump. I started hitting shots and my teammates did a great job of finding me. It was a fun game to play.”
After early struggles by the Rebels, it was evident that Reed Arena had turned into a hostile environment. During the past few games, both Missouri and Ole Miss uncharacteristically struggled from the floor.
A&M held Ole Miss to 45 percent shooting and seven points lower than their season average of 75. A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said its partially due to the team defense played on the SEC leading scorer Marshall Henderson.
“We started [freshman guard] Alex Caruso on him,” Kennedy said. “Alex set the tone. Our team was really locked in and we had guys that wanted to guard him.”
The Aggies held Henderson to just 10 points and, following a frustrating few minutes, forced him to ride the bench after fouling out.
However, all focus centered on Elston Wednesday night as he scored more than half of the Aggies points.
Elston was perfect from the floor in the first half, making all four of his three point shots and adding three baskets inside the arch, missing only one of five free throws.
Throughout the game, it was a close matchup as the squads exchanged leads nine times in addition to being tied eight times.
Junior guard Fabyon Harris was the only other Aggie to score in double digits, adding 13 points while senior forward Ray Turner accumulated 13 rebounds and finished with eight points.
Harris said when Elston goes on his shooting rampage, there’s no one capable of getting in his way.
“We were in the huddle and I told the team, ‘Elston’s hot,'” Harris said. “Lets keep finding ways to get him the ball.”
Only 5,377 fans were in attendance to see the record-breaking performance by Elston at Reed Arena. Kennedy said he’s waiting for other guys to step up similar to the way Elston has.
“I don’t know if Elston can get 37 or 40 every game,” Kennedy said. “We need some other guys to step up.”
The Aggies play three of their next four games on the road and Elston said the team will use this as confidence moving forward, particularly as they face Vanderbilt on Saturday.