Following a key win over Kansas State last Saturday, the Aggies welcomed No. 19 LSU to Reed Arena Wednesday night looking to start a win streak and get back on track in conference play, but the Tigers had other plans.
LSU took the win 72-57 behind a strong second half performance. With the loss, the Aggies fall to 8-11 (1-6 SEC) while the Tigers remain undefeated in SEC play at 7-0 and are 17-3 overall.
“Turnovers in the second half and our inability to keep them off the glass allowed them to control the second half,” A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. “We tried to do much one-on-one and over-handling the ball. In a game like this where you’re playing a top-20 team, one play can swing the game one way or the other and it obviously didn’t swing our way.”
The matchup was tied at 11 after five minutes played, but LSU would score four straight points and never give up the lead the rest of the game, despite being up by just a point at halftime. Sophomore point guard Tremont Waters scored 23 of the Tigers 37 points in the first half, knocking down four threes.
LSU came out of halftime motivated and quickly went on a 19-7 run in just seven minutes. The Aggies battled throughout the second half, cutting the lead to five at one point when junior guard Wendell Mitchell threw down a dunk with 9:27 left. That was the closest the Aggies would get as freshman forward Darius Days hit a three on the next possession to get the Tigers rolling again.
“Our decision making and our shot selection are the two things that would sum it up,” Sophomore guard TJ Starks said . “If we took better shots and had better passes I feel like we would have had a chance to win the game.”
Starks went 5-of-8 from the field with 15 points in the first half, but shot 2-of-11 in the second half while turning the ball over four times in the half as well. Starks finished with 21 points and five rebounds, while Nebo led the Aggies inside with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Waters accounted for 36 points in the second half. Waters went 6-of-10 from three and also added seven rebounds, while Days led the Tigers inside with seven points and eight rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive boards.
“It was a good win,” LSU head coach Will Wade said. “Thought our guys did a great job. Tre [Waters] was tremendous, and when he’s really good, we’re really tough to beat. He got going early and he was aggressive and attacking and when he plays like that, our team feeds off of that.”
Neither team shot the ball particularly well, as the Aggies shot just 33 percent to LSU’s 37 percent. A&M also shot just 14 percent from beyond the arc and had 16 turnovers to just six assists. LSU grabbed 21 offensive rebounds and had eight blocks to stifle the Aggies.
The Aggies will be back in action on Saturday as they welcome the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers to Reed Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.