SEC win a relief for Aggies
Runaway victory comes on 4th try in conference play
COLLEGE STATION — The voice of the Texas A&M player in a Reed Arena tunnel late Wednesday night held as much relief as excitement.
“We got a win,” he yelled to anyone within earshot.
At the same time, the Aggies were all exhaling in satisfaction — the first satisfaction they’ve enjoyed in Southeastern Conference play. A&M defeated LSU 92-62 in Reed Arena before 8,033 fans, its first victory in four tries in conference competition.
“We were definitely the better team, so we just had to go out and play like it,” A&M guard D.J. Hogg said.
The Aggies (9-6, 1-3), following a home loss to Tennessee to open SEC play, lost by 42 at Kentucky and 11 at South Carolina — hence the relief following a blowout win against the Tigers (9-6, 1-3).
“It’s good to see them having fun,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “Playing on the road against some really good opponents — we kind of played back on our heels a little bit. I’m glad we were the aggressors.”
Never in doubt
A&M’s Admon Gilder and Tonny Trocha-Morelos each scored 14 points in the victory, and the Aggies jumped on LSU from the start, building a 13-3 lead a little more than five minutes into the game. Robert Williams and Chris Collins each added 12 points for A&M, and LSU’s Antonio Blakeney scored a game-high 17 points, the only Tiger to reach double digits.
A&M held a lopsided 11-0 edge in blocks, with Williams leading the way with four, and Trocha-Morelos and Hogg chipping in three each. The Aggies also held a 46-36 advantage on points in the paint.
The Aggies knew this would be their night when Trocha-Morelos, clutching the ball in the middle of the lane, smoothly tossed a behind-the-back pass to Tavario Miller for a wideopen dunk, giving the Aggies a 21-5 lead with 11:31 left in the first half.
A&M has won its past two games against the Tigers by a combined 63 points, following a 71-38 victory in the SEC tournament last March in Nashville, Tenn.
“Their record wasn’t indicative of the type of team that they are, sitting at 0-3 in the league,” embattled LSU coach Johnny Jones said of the Aggies, who are trying to reach the NCAA Tournament for a second consecutive season. “They played as a team that was seeking and searching for an opportunity to win. We’re searching as well, and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
On the road again
Next up A&M heads to Mississippi State on Saturday, where the Aggies will try to win their first road game in league competition in three tries.
“0-3 was a tough start, so to finally get one under our belts the way we did, and the joy we had together doing it, was amazing,” Hogg said. “We didn’t really have fun when we were losing.”