No. 8 Aggies 'hustle' Georgia with stifling second-half defense, 69-53
The Georgia Bulldogs probably feel like they got hustled on Tuesday night.
Like a devious pool shark, No. 8 Texas A&M (19-5, 8-3) emerged from an inept first half with unflinching nerves to run the Bulldogs (16-9, 4-8) out of Reed Arena for a 69-53 Southeastern Conference basketball victory.
Trailing by nine at halftime, A&M used stellar defense and a nice combination of corner shots, straight shots, banks and caroms for a decisive 22-0 run which vaulted the Aggies to their fourth consecutive victory.
Solomon Washington scored 10 of his season-high 17 points in the second half. Likewise, Henry Coleman III had nine of 13 points, Wade Taylor IV had 10 of 12 and Zhuric Phelps had all 10 points in the second half.
On the defensive end, the Aggies held Georgia's leading scorer Asa Newell, who was averaging 15.3 points, to six. Also, guard Blue Cain, who had 15 points in the first half, got two in the second half.
“I did not think that we were good the first half,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “But credit to our guys. They were saying all the right things as the travesty was unfolding.”
The “travesty,” as Williams called it, was a hapless performance in which A&M shot just 25 percent (8-of-32) and hit only one of their final 10 shots to fall behind 32-23 at the break. They also committed 10 turnovers.
At one point, the Aggies went almost two minutes without a field goal until Washington hit a short jumper with 54 seconds left in the half.
Meanwhile, Georgia shooters consistently popped open from 3-point range. The Bulldogs took advantage of 6-of-14 behind the arc.
But the Aggies hit 56.3 percent in the second half (18-of-32), allowing Georgia only four field goals. A&M added to the transition with just two turnovers and 12 assists.
“I thought as poor as we played on both sides of the ball in the first half, I did think the last minute-and-a-half (when Georgia got just one basket) was an inkling of how we were going to have to play in the second half,” Williams said. “Ten turnovers is way too much. It led to eight points in transition.
“Only two turnovers and 12 assists in the second half not only helps us offensively; it also helps our defense. But when our defense is able to help our offense, which is probably where we’re more reliant, a lot of good things happen.”
Actually, great things began happening when Washington got a fortuitous bounce on a 3-pointer from the corner to pull the Aggies within 36-31 with 15:23 to play.
That shot sparked a verbal exchange between Washington and the Georgia bench. The exchange launched Washington to the second-highest scoring output of his career: He had 18 points vs. Florida in the SEC Tournament semifinals last year.
“There was a lot of chirping back and forth with the Georgia bench,” Washington said. “I feed off things like that. That’s my game. A lot of people might think that’s a distraction for me, but it gets me more amped up. I like to talk.”
Added forward Andersson Garcia, who dished out six assists: “Don’t start that game with Solo.”
Georgia should have been previously warned.
That launched a 22-0 run, which staked A&M to a 50-36 lead with nine minutes left. Washington had seven points in that run. Phelps had eight.
A&M’s lead never dropped below 12 points from there.
Rallying from a deficit is nothing new for the Aggies. They’ve come from behind to post SEC victories over Oklahoma, Ole Miss and Missouri.
But at least this time, they had the luxury of breathing easily down the final stretch. A&M has posted nine victories in 11 games decided by one or two possessions.
It was a relief to get a comfortable victory. Well, sort of.
“I don’t think we can count on, ‘Let’s be down nine and have a superlative defensive effort in the second half, and it’ll be OK,’” Williams said. “We can’t do that again. That will clip us.”
Maybe. Maybe not.
When the Aggies need it most, they appear to get more focused, more intense and more energetic.
Or maybe they just hustle.
