Texas A&M defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks 62-52 on the road Saturday on the back of a season-high 25 points from Danuel House.
House set the court on fire in the first half, scoring 17 points and shooting 5-for-6 from 3-point land. He also grabbed six rebounds and finished the game 7-for-11 from 3-point range and 4-out-of-5 from the free throw line.
The Aggies (19-7, 10-4 SEC) also took advantage of Sindarius Thornwell’s early foul trouble. Thornwell, who averages the most points per game for the Gamecocks, picked up two fouls in the first two minutes of play. The Aggie defense took advantage of his absence, holding South Carolina to 21 points on under thirty percent shooting in the opening half.
Thornwell returned in the second half to score nine points and help the Gamecocks pull within five points on multiple occasions, but some more timely shooting from House and Co. helped the Aggies pull away once more to seal the double-digit road victory.
Freshman point guard Alex Robinson struggled during his time in the game, finishing with zero assists and two turnovers. Aggie Head coach Billy Kennedy only played him for six minutes, and replacing his duties was junior guard Alex Caruso, who played all but five minutes. He finished the game all over the statsheet once again, with six points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Some uncharacteristically efficient free throw shooting also bolstered A&M’s effort. The Aggies, who ranked 314th in the country in free throw percentage at 64 percent heading in today’s matchup, made 18-out-of-25 from the charity stripe.
By holding off the Gamecocks, the Aggies avoid what would have been a devastating blow to their tournament hopes and position themselves nicely for the their upcoming matchup against No. 17 Arkansas at 8 p.m. Tuesday in Fayetteville.