Texas A&M
12-5, 3-2SEC
Missouri
7-11, 1-4SEC
Jones, House Lead Aggies to Third Straight SEC Win
Jan 21, 2015 | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Texas A&M overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Missouri 62-50 on Wednesday night.
The Aggies were led by Jalen Jones and Danuel House with 16 points each, whileWes Clark paced the Tigers with a game-high 18.
The Aggies (12-5, 3-2 SEC) held a wide rebounding advantage over the Tigers (7-11, 1-4) at 37-24, and shot 15 of 20 (75 percent) from the free-throw line. A&M entered the contest making 64 percent from the line.
Jones and House, two 6-foot-7 transfers who lead A&M in scoring, each tallied only four points in the first half. But the duo came alive in the second half, in combining for 24 points in helping A&M overcome a 31-24 deficit at the break.
The Aggies have won three consecutive SEC games following an 0-2 start in conference action. The Tigers have dropped four consecutive league contests after defeating LSU in overtime in their SEC opener.
TEAM RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
● Texas A&M won its third consecutive SEC contest Wednesday night at Reed Arena, defeating Missouri 62-50 to improve to 12-5 on the season and 3-2 in league play.
● The all-time series between the schools now stands at 16-12 in favor of Missouri, with A&M owning a 7-3 edge at Reed Arena … the two teams will match-up again this season on Feb. 7 in Columbia, Mo.
TEAM NOTES
● Texas A&M overcame a halftime deficit to post a win for the third straight game and sixth overall time this season … Missouri owned a 31-24 halftime advantage before the Aggies outscored the Tigers 38-19 after the intermission.
● During the second half, the Aggies took control of the game with a 22-2 run over 7:47 that turned a seven-point deficit (29-36) into a 13-point advantage (51-38) with 9:24 to play.
● On the glass A&M enjoyed a 37-24 edge, their third-best rebounding margin of the season (Northwestern State +22, Dayton +21).
● The Aggies were 15-of-20 from the free throw line (75%), while shooting 42.6 percent (20-for-47) from the field.
● Texas A&M used the starting line-up combination of Alex Caruso, Jordan Green, Danuel House, Jalen Jones and Kourtney Roberson for the ninth time this season (7-2).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
● Junior forward Jalen Jones reached double-digit scoring for the 12th time in 15 games played this season, finishing with 16 points … The Dallas native also pulled nine rebounds for the second straight contest to fall just short of a double-double.
● Junior guard Danuel House shared A&M's top-point honors alongside Jones with 16 points in the contest … House is averaging 19.5 points during his last four contests.
● Third-year Aggie Alex Caruso also reached double-digit points for the fifth time this season, ending play with 11 points … both Caruso and House were 4-of-4 from the free throw line, while Jones was 5-for-6.
● A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is now 62-54 in his fourth season at Texas A&M and 273-233 in 17 years as a head coach.
UP NEXT
● Texas A&M hits the road for back-to-back contests after the Missouri game, beginning Saturday at Tennessee when the Aggies and Volunteers face off inside Thompson-Boling Arena during a noon contest that will be televised on FSN.
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening Statement…
“I really thought the beginning of second half our guys played like we are capable of playing. Our post defense was really good, we didn't turn the ball over, only had three turnovers the second half. We got the ball side-to-side, had some patience and then Jalen Jones got us going made some shots and I thought that was the biggest key but Missouri came out ready to play like they've been doing all year and moved the ball the first half and caused us some problems with their defense sagging and we turned it over quick and gave them some opportunities to score and transition that really hurt us.”
On being a second half team…
“I hope not, you've got to be a both halves team to win in this league at a high level but we've been that way here at home. You know I told our guys at half time that we've been in this situation before, we play better in the second half so we've got to make some adjustments and fortunately we made the right adjustments and our guys executed it. “
On how far the team has come…
“The character and the toughness of our team and the maturity is greater than it was last year. I think leaps and bounds fortunately.”
On where the team is approaching a tough stretch of SEC play…
“We'll this is a tough stretch, you know I think we play four of our next five on the road but everybody has that in our league. This is a big game going to Tennessee, a place we won last year. It's a totally different team. They're playing with a lot of confidence. It'll be seventeen thousand people there, they get great support. We have got to take care of the ball and get shots at the basket. They play a match-up zone that I coached against Donnie Tyndall and the OVC for five years and so I've seen it a bunch and it's a good defense and they'll be well-prepared.”
TEXAS A&M JUNIOR JALEN JONES
On the inspiration for a better second half…
“We knew that we couldn't let this one slip away from us. Missouri has played a lot of close games this year and we knew that they were going to come at us hard and they gave the first punch, we also knew that we had to hit them back. From the start of the season until now we've been a pretty good second half team. We knew that we just had to take it to a different notch and that's what we ended up doing. Coach Kennedy said just stick to our principles, you know we had good practices and we just had to stick with what we know and we came out in that second half with a different attitude.”
TEXAS A&M JUNIOR ALEX CARUSO
On the second half…
“We just got good open looks and we did a better job, I think Coach told us we had 10 assists and three turnovers in the second half which is complete opposite of what was in the first half. We just got back to doing what we do which is making plays for other guys and we got into the paint and got open shots which is what we want to do and what we're good at. We just had to get back to doing that and Coach told us that at half time that we're getting in the paint, we just have to make the right play.”
On approaching the Tennessee game…
“We're in a great shape, we won three in a row now; almost four should've been four probably. Each game is a new step for us. Each game is the biggest game of our season. We're looking at Tennessee like we have to win this one to do what we want to do at the end of the year and make the tournament. We just have to keep pushing, we have to take that fight that we had from LSU and in the second half today, being able to pass the ball and get open shots and put that together in one game.”
MISSOURI HEAD COACH KIM ANDERSON
Opening Statement...
"In the first half we played well and we executed well. We made some shots that were good shots. I thought we had a good game plan defensively, and they didn't shoot particularly well in the first half. In the second half we saw a complete difference. They came out and switched their game plan to getting the ball inside, which we didn't have an answer for. In the first half we did a great job helping out on the post and they didn't try to throw it in as much, but in the second half they pounded it inside and we had no answer. We tried to double a little bit, tried to dig a little bit. Ultimately, we started trapping ball screens, so that helped. From an offensive standpoint in the second half, we quit doing what made us effective, and that was handling the basketball, executing and cutting. You've got to give Texas A&M credit because they guarded a lot better than they did in the first half. So, kind of a tale of two halves.”
On why A&M was able to come back after a poorer first half statistically than Missouri...
“I thought in the first half our defense was much better than it was in the second. Our guys were more aggressive and we got a lot of hands on the ball. In the second half they made a couple of shots and sped us up a little bit. We quit doing what made us effective in the first place, which was the fact that if you don't handle the ball against this team and you don't make shots, they're not going shoot it really quick, they're going to handle the ball and make you guard. So if you don't come down and make shots, you're going to be guarding for a long time. I think we ended up taking some shots that weren't the best and we missed some great looks as well.”
On the threes that sparked the A&M run in the second half...
“Jones knocked one down. We know he can shoot but he hadn't made one yet, so that got him going. Caruso missed a couple there in the first half and he knocked one down. Our defense became less aggressive than they had in the first half. Why? I don't know if we got tired or what because we are really playing some guys big minutes. It wasn't those guys that weren't getting it done, it was some of the other guys. I just don't think we did a good enough job closing out on them and getting our hands up and contesting the three. Not to mention, they started making their shots.”
MISSOURI SOPHOMORE WES CLARK
On the game...
"A&M just came out aggressive and played hard and we got a little stagnant with small turnovers that they converted. They caught onto our ball movement and we just didn't have the same aggression in the first half as we did in the second. They have great guards. Caruso is one of the passers in the league and Jordan Green is just as good. It's hard to keep their guys contained at all times and force turnovers. They just played well in the second half and we didn't come up with the same type of plays.”
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