Texas A&M
7-2
Youngstown State
7-5
Jones' 27 Powers Men to 81-63 Win over Youngstown State
Dec 13, 2014 | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)-- Guard Jalen Jones scored a season-high 27 points as Texas A&M defeated Youngstown State 81-63 on Saturday in Reed Arena.
Fellow guard Danuel House followed with a season-high 21 points. Jones is a transfer from SMU and House is a transfer from Houston, and both juniors are in their first year of action for the Aggies.
Forward Shawn Amiker led YSU with 16 points and guard DJ Cole followed with 15.
The Aggies led 58-54 with 9:14 remaining when they reeled off the next seven points to put away the game. In that span, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Alex Robinson each notched a basket and Davonte Fitzgerald sank a 3-pointer to lift A&M to a double-digit lead with 6:06 remaining.
The Aggies were especially sharp from long range, making a season-best 11 of 20 3-pointers (55 percent). A&M rebounded from a 77-63 loss at former Big 12 foe Baylor on Tuesday.
Texas A&M Basketball
Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 81, Youngstown State 63
Dec. 13, 2014 ● Reed Arena
TEAM RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
● Texas A&M improved to 7-2 on the season after the 81-63 victory over Youngstown State at Reed Arena Saturday … YSU, meanwhile, fell to 7-5 on the year.
● The Aggies also remained unbeaten on their home court this season (5-0), while moving to within one victory of 200 all-time at Reed Arena (199-72).
TEAM NOTES
● Texas A&M shot 60.8 percent (31-for-51) in the contest, including a 17-for-22 (77.3 percent) mark after halftime … it stood out as the first time A&M has shot over 60 percent in a game since Nov. 12, 2011, against Mississippi Valley State (60.3 percent).
● A&M was also hot from beyond the arc, making 11-of-20 attempts from long range for a season-best 55.0 3-point shooting percentage.
● The Aggies were active in transition against the Penguins, holding a 16-3 edge in fast break points.
● On the glass, Texas A&M owned a 35-28 rebounding edge.
● The Aggies held a 36-26 lead at the intermission.
● Texas A&M used the starting line-up combination of Alex Caruso, Jordan Green, Danuel House, Jalen Jones and Kourtney Roberson for the fourth time this season (3-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
● The Aggies featured a pair of players [Jalen Jones (27) and Danuel House (21)] with 20 or more points for the first time since David Loubeau and Elston Turner accomplished the feat against Florida on Dec. 17, 2011.
● Jones' 27-point performance was a career best, topping his previous high-scoring mark of 16 set against Northwestern State (11/14) … The Dallas native made 11-of-13 field goal attempts, including a career-best 4-for-4 mark from 3-point range against the Penguins … Jones has now reached double-digit points in seven of nine games this season … he also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds in the contest.
● Additionally, Jones also became the first Aggie to register 10 or more field goal makes since Elston Turner against Tennessee on Feb. 23, 2013.
● The 21 points was also a season-best for House, who went 7-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
● Freshman Alex Robinson dished out a career-best 10 assists, becoming the first Aggie not named Alex Caruso to hit double-digits in assists since Acie Law IV in 2007.
● A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is now 57-51 in his fourth season at Texas A&M and 268-230 in 17 years as a head coach.
UP NEXT
● The Aggies hit the road next week, traveling to Kansas City's Sprint Center to face Kanas State on Dec. 20 ... the game is slated for a 6 p.m. tip-off and will be televise nationally on ESPNU.
Postgame Quotes
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening statement…
"It was a good win, I thought we beat a good team that kept hanging around and making threes. They were tough to guard, especially their smaller guards. Fortunately, offensively we really moved the ball and shot the ball extremely well the second half to really break the game open. They are a good basketball team and it was a tough test for us."
On Alex Caruso's limited role in the win…
"He's tired, I think he's a little under the weather. Against Baylor the first eight to ten minutes he was really good and the Arizona State game took a lot out of him. He goes so hard in practice and you know I thought he was a little fatigued today. Fortunately, our other guys stepped up and that's the mark of a good team when you have enough depth that you can play some other guys and they came in ready to play for us."
On playing without Alex Caruso…
"We're learning how to do that. He's been in foul trouble all year he cannot pick up the first foul in the first two minutes, he's got to learn. His first foul was a foul he can't afford to have and, you know, the second one was a tough call but you're going to have that sometimes. But we've been playing without him all year and we got better at it today."
On Jones and House combining for 48 points….
"Jalen has worked extremely hard at shooting the basketball, he had good pace. I said all along he didn't play basketball last year, he sat out the whole year, so basically a year and half he didn't play so getting a pace to play defensively and knowing where shots come from is huge. Danuel settled in and he didn't play the first month, we didn't have him the first few games so we're a work in progress. We've got to get better on the defensive end and where we've got a post guy who wants the ball and will rebound for us on a consistent basis."
TEXAS A&M JUNIOR FORWARD JALEN JONES
On the going 4-for-4 from 3-point range…
“I just got into a rhythm. I just took my time and was able to knock down a couple of shots. My teammates were able to find me in the right places and I knocked them down.”
On what a game like this means for the transfer players…
“I think it was great for transfers like Danuel and I to get a game like this under our belts. We tried to put that bad Baylor loss out of our heads and come back and redeem ourselves. It just feels great to play the way that we know we're capable of playing. We have to remain consistent in order to be successful.”
TEXAS A&M JUNIOR GUARD DANUEL HOUSE
On building the lead in the second half…
“It started on the defensive end. We had to get rebounds so that we could get back on offense. I credit our team for crashing the boards, securing rebounds and not turning over the ball.”
On Alex Robinson's development…
“He's getting it. We've been waiting on him to bust out because we know that as a freshman you have to take your time and come around. Well, now he's coming around. I love his new role because he's accepted it and it has made him a better player.”
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
