January 05, 2008
Texas A&M will coast into Big 12 play with a seven-game winning streak and its best start since the 1920s.
Donald Sloan had 17 points and the 12th-ranked Aggies got an easy 79-53 win over injury-riddled LSU on Saturday night.
It's the second-best start in school history and the first time the Aggies have been 14-1 since the 1921-22 season. The season before that was the only time LSU won in College Station, though the Tigers have beaten A&M the past two years, including a one-point thriller in the 2006 NCAA tournament.
This time it was Texas A&M that controlled the game from start to finish, jumping out to a 9-0 lead and maintaining a margin of 20 points or more throughout most of the second half.
LSU (7-7), which was has been missing Tasmin Mitchell and Quintin Thornton due to injuries, played its first game without center Chris Johnson, who broke a bone in his hand Wednesday.
The Tigers, who lost their third straight, were also without Dameon Mason, who didn't make the trip because of academic commitments.
LSU was led by Anthony Randolph with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
The Aggies led by 15 at halftime and quickly built their lead to 48-28 thanks to five quick points by Josh Carter to start the second half. Carter finished with 13 points.
Early in the second half, Sloan got the crowd worked up when he took a pass and drove the length of the court through three LSU defenders and hit an off-balance layup that made it 50-28.
Sloan had another highlight when he juked a defender in the lane and finished with a layup that pushed A&M's lead to 30 points with about eight minutes left.
Aggies coach Mark Turgeon sat most of his starters for the rest of the game.
LSU's tough night was perhaps summed up best by an attempted dunk by Randolph late in the game. It bounced off the rim while he was fouled and sent crashing to the court clutching his leg. He was able to get up and made his second free throw to make the score 73-49.
Texas A&M was ahead 9-0 before LSU got on the board with a jumper by Terry Martin with about 16 minutes left in the first half. A basket by Chinemelu Elonu made it 32-17 later in the half before a 3-pointer by Garrett Temple and a basket by Garrett Green cut A&M's lead to 10.
The Aggies outscored LSU 11-6 in the last minutes of the first half to push their lead to 43-28 at halftime.
Texas A&M won in front of a non-conference record crowd of 12,255, including new Aggies football coach Mike Sherman.
The Aggies begin Big 12 play Saturday against Colorado. LSU opens Southeastern Conference competition against Mississippi State on Wednesday.
Postgame Quotes & Notes
Texas A&M Sophomore Guard Donald Sloan- ?We obviously have areas that we need to improve but we feel very confident right now. I?â„¢m not saying we will win every game, we have things that we need to tweak but we do have a lot of confidence.?
Texas A&M Senior Forward Joseph Jones- ?LSU was a very talented team and that was a good game to prepare us for the competition that we will see in the Big 12. It felt good to get a win over those guys. They beat us the last two years so this win feels really good.?
Texas A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon- ?I am really proud of my team tonight. They played with a great energy from the start. In the second half we really turned it up defensively and that was the difference. Dominique (Kirk) did a great job on (Marcus) Thornton but holding him to 12 on 16 shots. These kids obviously wanted to beat LSU and you could see that from the start by the way they came out and defended. These guys needed a challenge and they stepped up tonight. Now we have a week to prepare for Colorado but yeah, I think we are ready. I thought that our guys handled the crowd well and with a lot of maturity. They gave us a lot of energy defensively to play against a talented offense that really was playing well. This is by far the most athletic team I have ever coached. Now we are just learning some skills and some basketball knowledge.?
LSU Head Coach John Brady- ?Seven scholarship guys and a walk on. What do you say about it? You talk about it, and somebody will think you?â„¢re trying to make an excuse. That?â„¢s just the way it is. I thought we competed well. I thought our team competed well. We battled them on the boards they just pushed us around. They beat us by nine on the glass, and we gave up nine offensive rebounds. We?â„¢ve given up double that before. I think what shows up when you?â„¢re outmanned and outnumbered is they get to the free throw line. That?â„¢s my team. The last four or five years that?â„¢s the kind of team we?â„¢ve had. Strong inside; rebound the ball well; good enough shooters in the perimeter; and solid defenders. They aren?â„¢t going to press you a lot or trap you a lot. But they are solid on the ball. They have good shot blockers around the goal. Those are teams we?â„¢ve had at LSU the last few years, but we?â„¢re so different now.?
A&M NOTES:
*Tonight?â„¢s attendance of 12,255 was a Texas A&M record for a regular-season non-conference home game. The old mark was 11,200 against Houston in 2004-05, although 13,151 attended the third-round game of the 2005 postseason NIT against St. Joseph?â„¢s.
*The 26-point margin of victory was the second largest by A&M in the series and was the largest since a 49-19 victory in College Station in 1920-21.
*A&M is 6-1 against LSU in College Station and has won six straight. LSU won the first game in College Station (24-16) in 1920-21. LSU leads the overall series, 14-10.
*A&M is 14-1 for the first time since 1921-22, when the Aggies eventually started 16-1. The best start in school annals was in 1919-20, when A&M finished 19-0.
*The 14-1 start is the best by a first-year coach in A&M history.
*A&M has won 14 straight home games (12-0 this season) and has won 35 of its last 36 at Reed Arena.
*In the last four seasons, A&M is 63-6 at Reed Arena, the most home wins in the country in that span.
*A&M has won seven straight games for the second time this season.
*Junior Josh Carter scored 13 points, making 3-of-5 three-pointers. He now has 179 career three-pointers and needs three more to pass Antoine Wright (181 in 2002-05) and move into second on A&M?â„¢s career chart. Carter has scored in double figures in nine straight games.
*Sophomore Donald Sloan scored a game-high 17 points, the third best game of his career. He had 18 earlier this season against Washington and Texas State.
*Senior Joseph Jones scored 12 points with 4 rebounds, his 12th double-figure scoring game of the season.
*Sophomore Chinemelu Elonu scored 8 points with 6 rebounds and 2 blocks, his second-best scoring game of the year (10 vs. Texas State). Elonu has posted at least six rebounds in four straight games.
*A&M made .519 from the field, its nine game of better than 50 percent.
*LSU made just .371 from the field, the 11th time A&M?â„¢s opponent has shot under 40 percent.
*A&M posted a 40-31 rebounding edge and has out-rebounded all 15 opponents this season.
*A&M had 36 points in the paint, its fifth straight game with at least 30. The Aggies have had at least 20 points in the paint in all 15 games.