The Aggies grabbed their fourth-straight win and second conference victory of the season in a dominating fashion against the LSU Tigers after offensive showings from graduate guard Dennis Dexter and junior forward Julius Marble.
A&M and LSU got off to strong starts, as both teams traded shots early into the first period. However, the Aggies got to work and were able to pull ahead with a 20-14 lead after a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV. Despite attempts from the Tigers, the Aggies pushed forward and outscored LSU 14-9 to end the first half with a 34-23 score.
The second half began in a similar fashion as A&M pulled ahead with a comfortable 38-23 lead. The Tigers continued to fight back, but the double-digit lead proved too much to handle along with the defensive efforts from the Aggies. During the final portion of the second half, A&M’s offensive onslaught was unstoppable behind senior guard Tyrece Radford. In the end, LSU couldn’t come back and the matchup finished with a 69-56 score.
Dexter and Marble led the way for the Aggies with 17 points apiece, with Dexter notching a new season-high for points. Radford and Taylor were close behind with 14 and 13 points, respectively. On the defensive side of the ball, Dexter matched a career-high of three steals. Meanwhile, Marble was a force to be reckoned with in the paint as he finished the game with nine rebounds.
As a unit, the Aggies held the Tigers’ high-scoring offense to just 10 points in the paint while A&M finished with 42. In addition, the Aggies were extremely aggressive as they hauled in 38 rebounds compared to LSU’s 27.
The maroon and white’s practices for situations at the rim led the way for the team’s dominating performance in the paint, Marble said.
“We have been practicing this and we have been using the pads against one another if we can make these shots during practice then surely we can make them in the game,” Marble said. “It is good to see that come to life because it is definitely something that we work on.”
As for the team’s overall performance, it all comes down to preparation, A&M coach Buzz Williams said.
“A lot of credit goes to the staff for understanding and preparing for the opponent and the time frame we are communicating that to our players during practice,” Williams said. “I think that our preparation for each team has benefitted us tremendously in the way that we can allow the team to understand what they run and what we are going to do to stop that etc. We have played hard and together and, to some degree, with great IQ.”
A&M will continue its SEC slate against Missouri on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.
