Hot-shooting Aggies overwhelm Tigers
COLLEGE STATION — Tonny Trocha-Morelos has learned the hard way in practice, so the Texas A&M forward offered the Aggies’ Southeastern Conference foes free advice Saturday:
If you’re holding the ball with A&M freshman forward Robert Williams anywhere in the area, don’t try shooting it.
“If I saw Robert, I would pass the ball, honestly,” Trocha-Morelos said.
Williams blocked six shots in the Aggies’ 81-62 whipping of Auburn on Saturday in Reed Arena, the most in eight years by an Aggie. And that wasn’t even A&M’s most impressive statistic of the day.
The Aggies shot 68.9 percent from the field (31-of-45), third best in school history, compared to 34.3 percent (23-of-67) for Auburn.
“We’ve struggled defensively,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We thought we could disrupt them a little bit more than we did.”
A&M’s primary disruptor on defense, Williams collected the most blocks by an Aggie in a game since Chinemelu Elonu had six against Florida A&M in 2009.
“Admon Gilder and Tyler Davis are their two focal points,” Pearl said of the A&M sophomores. “Williams is going to go in the lottery, and he’s their thirdbest player. They’re doing a good job developing him.” Zone effective
Williams also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and added 13 points. He projects as a first-round selection in the NBA draft should he turn pro following this season — and perhaps as Pearl pointed out, a high first-round pick.
Both the Aggies (14-12, 6-8 SEC) and the Tigers (16-11, 5-9) entered Sat- urday’s action having lost two consecutive SEC games. A&M coach Billy Kennedy plays little zone defense but relied heavily on it against the Tigers, who had averaged 92 points in their three previous games.
“That caught us off guard a little bit,” Pearl said. “When we did attack it, we didn’t execute.”
The Aggies played one of their best halves of the season in leaping to a 41-27 lead at the break, in their first home game since long- range shooter D.J. Hogg was announced out for the season with a nagging foot injury.
“We got some good looks, and we made them,” Kennedy said. “Hopefully, it’s a sign we’re playing better. … (But) we haven’t done anything consistent all year, so I’m not going to get too excited.” Too many turnovers
Despite the huge gap in shooting percentages, the game didn’t develop into a big-time blowout because of the Aggies’ persistent penchant for turning over the ball. They entered Saturday’s action last in the league in turnovers (14.9 per game), and finished with 19 against a saggy defensive team in Auburn.
“We turned the ball over way more than I’d like,” Kennedy said, before adding with a slight smile, “but we made up for it when Robert Williams blocked six shots.”
Their losing record in SEC play doesn’t reflect it, but the Aggies have played decently since Jan. 21, winning three of their last five games, with two single-digit setbacks at Florida and Vanderbilt mixed in. A&M next plays at Arkansas on Wednesday and will try to avenge a 62-60 loss on Jan. 17 at College Station.