Another close game resulted in another deflating loss for the Aggie men Saturday afternoon.
Copious turnovers and a late LSU surge were too much for No. 15 A&M (18-7, 7-5 SEC) to overcome in a 76-71 loss in Baton Rouge. The loss is now the fifth straight in SEC play for A&M and they have now dropped four straight since beating Iowa State Jan 31.
LSU (16-9, 9-3 SEC) started quick, taking an early 14-6 lead. The Aggies would respond with a 23-8 run and jump out to a seven point lead. The two would exchange threes to end the half and A&M entered the break with a 37-33 lead. The Aggies shot 56 percent in the first half of action and were 41 percent from three-point land.
It was another rough day on the turnover end for A&M, committing 19 miscues that led to 20 LSU points. Coming into the game, A&M averaged just 12 turnovers per contest, but in their last three games have committed 49 of them total (16.3 per game).
Fouls were called left and right on the Aggies and they had 25 overall by games end. LSU shot 23-for-29 from the charity stripe.
The second half was a game of runs. The two went back and forth, trading quick runs and blows for a good portion of the half, ultimately finding them knotted at 60-60 with 6:24 remaining. From that point, LSU took over with a 16-6 run that put the Aggies away for good.
The Tigers outscored A&M 43 to 34 in the second half.
Ben Simmons starred for LSU once again, scoring 16 points and 11 rebounds, falling just 3 assists shy of a triple-double. Four Tigers reached double-figures, three of which reached 15 points. As a team, LSU committed just nine turnovers.
Rebounding was once again an issue for A&M, as LSU out-rebounded them on the offensive end by a 14 to 7 margin and a 31 to 30 overall count. The Tigers would score 12 second chance points from those rebounds.
The Aggies shot 55 percent from the floor but just 35 percent (7-for-20) from three-point range. Danuel House led A&M with 20 points and beyond him, Caruso, Jones and Gilder each reached double-figures.
Jones, who did not start due to a hip injury, was 4-for-9 from the floor and looked to be a bit off all day.
In their last three games, the Aggies have lost by an average of three points per game and have lost each by five points or less.
A road trip littered schedule finally ends as the Aggies return to Reed Arena for a big week, which begins Tuesday when A&M hosts Ole Miss.