Texas A&M
9-3
Hartford
7-7
Basketball Closes Non-Conference With 58-49 Win over Hartford
Jan 03, 2015 | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)-- Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy searched for a positive outside of the final score in the Aggies' 58-49 victory over Hartford on Saturday. An otherwise disappointed Kennedy finally came up with one following what he dubbed an ''ugly game.''
''When they cut it to three, we showed enough poise to score and make the plays we needed to win,'' Kennedy said.
The Aggies (9-3) wrapped up their non-conference play with the jagged offering, and open Southeastern Conference action Tuesday at Alabama. Kennedy said he thought A&M was ready for league play, but Saturday's showing made him believe otherwise, at least in the minutes following.
''After the game I don't feel great about it,'' Kennedy said. ''But off of our practices and what we have (on the roster), I know we'll be ready to play against Alabama.''
Jalen Jones led the Aggies with 12 points, while senior forward Mark Nwakamma led the Hawks (7-7, 0-1 America East) with 13 points.
The Aggies (9-3) led 42-36 with 7:48 remaining when Danuel Houseconverted a three-point play after an offensive rebound to give A&M what appeared to be breathing room at 45-36, but the Hawks wouldn't go quietly.
Hartford's Taylor Dyson sank a 3-pointer to tighten the gap to 47-44 with 3:12 remaining. A&M's Jordan Green countered with two free throws and, following a defensive stop, Antwan Space put away the game with a reverse layup on an assist from Alex Caruso.
''They handled our run in a real poised way,'' Hartford coach John Gallagher said.
''I feel like we were in control the whole game,'' Green said. ''We started off pretty good, because some of the other games we had to fight our way back.''
The Hawks were in the game until the final minutes despite shooting 28.1 percent (16 of 57) from the floor, including 8 of 32 from the 3-point line.
''I'm thankful we found a way to win,'' Kennedy said. ''And Hartford missed some shots.''
TEAM RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
● Texas A&M improved to 9-3 on the season with a 58-49 victory over Hartford on Saturday at Reed Arena.
● The Aggies are now a perfect 7-0 on their home court this season and 125-12 (.912) all-time against non-conference opponents inside Reed Arena.
● The all-time series between the Aggies and Hawks now stands at 2-0 in favor of A&M.
TEAM NOTES
● One the defensive end, A&M limited the Hawks to just 28.1 percent shooting, the lowest by an Aggie opponent in a game this season.
● For the fourth consecutive game, the Aggies owned a rebounding advantage by pulling down 41 boards compared to Hartford's 35.
● The Aggies were 0-for-13 from 3-point range, marking the first time they have not hit a long-distance shot since Nov. 12, 2011, when they went 0-for-17 during a season-opening win over Alcorn State.
● Texas A&M owned a 10-3 advantage in fast-break points, including a pair of dunks from senior Jordan Green.
● Texas A&M used the starting line-up combination of Alex Caruso, Jordan Green, Davonte Fitzgerald, Jalen Jones and Kourtney Roberson for the first time this season (1-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
● Junior guard Alex Caruso dished out 10 assists in the win to reach double-digits in helpers for the fifth time in his career … The College Station native also contributed game-highs in rebounds (8) and steals (5) in the contest.
● Caruso's five steals gave him 158 for his three-year career and moved him past Acie Law IV (156 steals from 2003-07) into sixth place on A&M's career steals list.
● The Aggies' starting frontcourt of Jalen Jones and Kourtney Roberson finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively, as A&M owned a 34-14 edge in points in the paint.
● A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is now 59-52 in his fourth season at Texas A&M and 270-231 in 17 years as a head coach.
UP NEXT
● The Aggies tip-off Southeastern Conference play with a trip to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Tuesday where they will battle Alabama in an 8 p.m. contest inside Coleman Coliseum. The contest will be televised nationally on SEC Network.
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening Statement…
“Obviously, it was an ugly game. We had some guys I didn't think were ready to play. I'm disappointed in that. Thankfully, that we found a way to win and Hartford missed some shots. We have to grow up and early, and I think will. We play on Tuesday. Going on the road in the SEC you can't make the plays that we made today and have so many inconsistencies that we had.”
Where his team is going into conference play…
“Off of this game, I don't feel great about it. But off of our practices and what we have, the good we've done, I know we'll be ready to play against Alabama. We'll have to do a better job of executing. When we go to our bench, those guys have to be ready. We had a couple guys not practice well, and I didn't like the way they handled themselves in that. That kind of messed our rotation up a little bit. Kourtney's heartbeat got out of rhythm, so we didn't play him the second half. We had a lot of little things like that add up in a short amount of time that we hadn't had until the last week. We have to put that behind us.”
On what you liked in the game…
“When they cut it to three, we showed enough poise to score and made the plays we needed to win. College basketball this year has been crazy. A lot of teams have beaten teams with situations like this. When we had to rise up and had a lead, we never totally broke. I was proud we made some free throws at the end. Jordan made two free throws. Alex Caruso did also. We needed that to give ourselves an opportunity to go against a good Alabama team.”
On preparing for Alabama…
“They are very athletic. Their zone and their pressure is something that concerns me. We have to take better care of the ball. I think they'll play a lot of zone. They're athletic. I think we'll do a good job defending them. Ricky Tarrant is a transfer they have that is playing well for them. When he plays well, they do well.”
TEXAS A&M FRESHMAN PEYTON ALLEN
On the lack of a 3-point baskets…
"It's basketball, it happens. It'll happen in practice or it'll happen during games, you never know. We kept getting open shots, we just didn't hit them today. So we got the defense going, kept attacking the rim, and we got to the free throw line, so we kept doing the other things right."
TEXAS A&M SENIOR JORDAN GREEN
On the team's performance…
"I think we can improve some things, but that's every game. I'm proud of our guys. We fought through it and we stayed poised. There're a lot of things that we can work on, but, overall, I'm happy it's a win."
On the win…
"Coach said it was perfect for us to face a little adversity before we go on the road into conference play against Alabama. It's a good win for us because I think in the last three years I've been here we've always given away a game we should have won on paper. We stayed poised and we stayed locked in, so I'm proud of our guys."
HARTFORD HEAD COACH JOHN GALLAGHER
Opening Statement…
"First of all, I'd like to give a lot of credit to Texas A&M and Coach Kennedy. After playing them today and watching film on them, I can see they're going to cause a lot of problems in the SEC. We have six seniors and are one of the oldest teams in college basketball. I thought they handled our run at them in a real poised way, so I want to first give credit to them. As far as notes on our side of the ball, we're one of the top five teams in three-point field goal percentage and we lost our way against Notre Dame. To come in here and not let them make a three I think was a great thing for us. From a program standpoint, we were happy to travel here. It's a great place and a great facility, so you guys have a lot to be proud of, especially the way your coach coaches his team. He's a very sound basketball coach."
On Texas A&M…
"The first half, I thought we did a phenomenal job on ball-screen defense but they run good stuff so it makes you make decisions. I think we fought them real hard, but when you look at a team like Texas A&M, you have to decide if you want to win or lose the game. With the ball-screen coverage we made them survey the court. Caruso is too good of a passer, so we were going to hard-hedge him and make him come back and throw it across and just keep it out of his hands. I think he still had a really good game with 10 assists, but it took away some of his aggressiveness and shot attempts away."
Team Stats
Game Leaders
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