Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Basketball
No. 20 Aggies dominate Auburn on the boards, take 81-63 road win
Visiting Texas A&M used a dominant second half performance to blow out Auburn, 81-63, on Tuesday night and move a step closer to capturing the Southeastern Conference regular season basketball championship.
The No. 20 Aggies (23-7, 12-5 SEC) can clinch at least a share of the SEC title with a victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday at Reed Arena. It would be A&M’s first conference basketball championship since 1986.
Danuel House scored 19 points, Jalen Jones had 16, Tyler Davis had 14 and Admon Gilder had 10 to lead the Aggies, who shot 50 percent in the second half.
Alex Caruso dished out seven assists and tied Davis with nine rebounds as the Aggies dominated the boards. A&M out-rebounded the Tigers, 51-27. That included 21 offensive boards as the Aggies netted 38 points in the paint.
Auburn (11-18, 5-12) was led by Tyler Harris with 20 points and T.J. Lang with 10.
A&M closed the first half with a 14-3 run to forge a 33-33 halftime tie and never slowed down.
Jones converted the first two baskets of the second half and House hit two free throws, scored an alley-oop dunk and hit a three-pointer as the Aggies scored the first 12 points of the second half to take control.
The A&M lead climbed to as much as 22 points, 75-53, on a pair of free throws by Jones with 4:34 remaining.
In the early going there was concern that A&M might again struggle on the road.
Perhaps feeling pressure of the conference race, the Aggies appeared to come out tight as they missed all 10 shots from three-point range in the first half and struggled to convert layups and put-backs.
A&M shot just 34.1 percent in the first half, while Auburn hit half a dozen three-pointers. The Tigers held a 30-19 lead after Horace Spencer hit a pair of free throws with 5:28 left in the half.
The Aggies answered with a Davis dunk, which sparked the game-tying 14-3 run. House had a pair of dunks and Jones added another in the run.
A&M continued the momentum by scoring the aforementioned first 12 points of the second half to take a 45-33 lead on House's three-pointer with 16:40 showing.
Auburn could not cut the deficit to more than seven points in the second half.
Three-point accuracy was a major factor in that. Auburn converted just one of 12 three-point attempts in the second half, while A&M hit five.
Gilder had two of those, while House, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and D.J. Hogg each had one.
The No. 20 Aggies (23-7, 12-5 SEC) can clinch at least a share of the SEC title with a victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday at Reed Arena. It would be A&M’s first conference basketball championship since 1986.
Danuel House scored 19 points, Jalen Jones had 16, Tyler Davis had 14 and Admon Gilder had 10 to lead the Aggies, who shot 50 percent in the second half.
Alex Caruso dished out seven assists and tied Davis with nine rebounds as the Aggies dominated the boards. A&M out-rebounded the Tigers, 51-27. That included 21 offensive boards as the Aggies netted 38 points in the paint.
Auburn (11-18, 5-12) was led by Tyler Harris with 20 points and T.J. Lang with 10.
A&M closed the first half with a 14-3 run to forge a 33-33 halftime tie and never slowed down.
Jones converted the first two baskets of the second half and House hit two free throws, scored an alley-oop dunk and hit a three-pointer as the Aggies scored the first 12 points of the second half to take control.
The A&M lead climbed to as much as 22 points, 75-53, on a pair of free throws by Jones with 4:34 remaining.
In the early going there was concern that A&M might again struggle on the road.
Perhaps feeling pressure of the conference race, the Aggies appeared to come out tight as they missed all 10 shots from three-point range in the first half and struggled to convert layups and put-backs.
A&M shot just 34.1 percent in the first half, while Auburn hit half a dozen three-pointers. The Tigers held a 30-19 lead after Horace Spencer hit a pair of free throws with 5:28 left in the half.
The Aggies answered with a Davis dunk, which sparked the game-tying 14-3 run. House had a pair of dunks and Jones added another in the run.
A&M continued the momentum by scoring the aforementioned first 12 points of the second half to take a 45-33 lead on House's three-pointer with 16:40 showing.
Auburn could not cut the deficit to more than seven points in the second half.
Three-point accuracy was a major factor in that. Auburn converted just one of 12 three-point attempts in the second half, while A&M hit five.
Gilder had two of those, while House, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and D.J. Hogg each had one.
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