Aggies find new life in dominant 92-62 win over LSU

Borrowing from a Maroon Mardi Gras theme, Texas A&M tossed in an array of dunks, layups and three-point shots like Mardi Gras beads as 8,033 at Reed Arena seemingly encouraged the Aggies show their glitz.

That glitz was on display from an opening Robert Williams alley-oop dunk off an in-bounds pass from Chris Collins that launched the Aggies onward to a stunning 92-62 basketball blowout of LSU on Wednesday night. The victory put an abrupt end to a frustrating three-game slump and perhaps will start a more successful run in the Southeastern Conference race.

“We were definitely the better team. We had to go out and play like it,” sophomore guard D.J. Hogg said. “We had to watch our turnovers and play good basketball.

“Mainly, we cut down on turnovers, executed on offense and played good defense. When we do that we’ll be tough to beat.”

The Aggies (9-6, 1-3) had committed 66 turnovers in their previous three games. They reduced their errors to 15 against LSU (9-6, 1-3).

“We wanted to keep it to 12,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said.

That, then, is the only area in which the Aggies fell short. They shot 56.7 percent from the field and held LSU to 36.8 percent. The Aggies hit 75 percent at the foul line, out-rebounded the Tigers 47-32, outscored them 36-20 on the bench and blocked 11 shots.

Admon Gilder and Tonny Trocha-Morelos led A&M with 14 points each, while Chris Collins and Robert Williams both had a dozen. Collins also dished out eight assists and Williams had six rebounds and four blocked shots.

Hogg scored 10 and tied Tavario Miller for the team-lead with seven rebounds.

LSU was led by sophomore guard Antonio Blakeney with 17 points. No one else scored in double figures for the Tigers.

“I thought we were ready by the last two days we practiced,” Kennedy said. “Yesterday, I was pretty confident we would play well. We did. You practice like you play. A couple of weeks earlier I complained how guys were playing in practice. Hopefully, we’re growing.”

That growth was apparent immediately as the Aggies started like an angry team intent on taking out recent frustration on the visiting Tigers. Williams’ opening dunk sparked a 19-3 run over the first 7 1/2 minutes.

In fact, A&M was so dominant that with 12:10 showing, the Aggies had more blocked shots (4) than LSU had points.

“We knew coming in it would be a tough battle,” LSU coach Johnny Jones said. “Their record certainly is not indicative of the type team they are. I thought they played as a team that was seeking and searching for an opportunity to win.

“We’re a team that’s searching as well. We’re a ways from where we need to be and want to be.”

The Aggies maintained a 16-point lead, 23-7, after Trocha-Morelos hit a runner with 10:28 left. However, center Tyler Davis went to the bench in foul trouble and Hogg soon followed.

Without them, the Aggies offense momentarily stalled and LSU fought back into contention. The Tigers pulled within 27-22 on a pair of Wayde Sims free throws with 6:38 to go.

But A&M protected the lead at the foul line by converting six of seven free throws in the last six minutes. Meanwhile, LSU went stagnant on the offensive end. The Tigers hit just 2 of their last 13 field goal attempts and did not hit a shot in the last 5:09.

Conversely, A&M closed the half strong as Williams scored twice on put-backs and Collins hit a 15-footer with 11 seconds remaining. The Aggies rebuilt their lead to 16 points, 43-27, at halftime.

A&M never slowed down. They hit their first four shots of the second half and 10 of their next 11. They ultimately shot 69 percent from the field (20 of 29) in the second half as their lead grew to as much as 35 points.

“We had some adversity with foul trouble and our bench came in and was pretty solid for us,” Kennedy said. “I wasn't too happy with the call when DJ picked up his third. I thought JC Hampton played well. Robert played good. Tavario was good and blocked a couple of shots. We made free throws. We did all those things we haven’t consistently done.”

The question now is whether they can continue it. Was this  decisive win an indication of how the Aggies will play against Mississippi State on Saturday and beyond?

That’s to be determined.

But it was a good showing from a team determined to bounce back from its slow start.

“0-3 was a tough start,” Hogg said. “It feels good to finally get one under our belt and the way we did it. It was amazing. Hopefully, we can keep it rolling.”