Aggies Drop Game at Arizona State, 67-54

Saturday, December 5

Tempe, Ariz.

9:30 PM

Texas A&M

7-2

Arizona State

6-2

Texas A&M

Arizona State

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Dec 06, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP)-- Willie Atwood had 15 points to lead Arizona State's balanced offense and the Sun Devils held off a late charge to beat No. 18 Texas A&M 67-54 on Saturday night.

Arizona State (6-2) had some solid wins to start the season and passed its first big test by beating the Aggies, the third ranked nonconference team to play at Wells Fargo Arena in 32 years.

The Sun Devils made 10 3-pointers, but didn't shoot particularly well, finishing at 36 percent from the floor. Tra Holder added 13 points for Arizona State, which built a 25-point lead early in the second half.

Texas A&M (7-2) shot poorly most of the night (31 percent) before using an extended zone to chip away at the Sun Devils' lead.

Danuel House had 17 points and Alex Caruso added 15 for the Aggies. They were 6 for 26 from 3-point range.

The Aggies played three games away from College Station early in the season, beating Texas and Gonzaga before losing to Syracuse in the championship game of the Battle4Atlantis in the Bahamas.

This trip to the desert was their first true road game and they were facing a Sun Devils team that has been a little better than expected in coach Bobby Hurley's first season.

Arizona State was coming off consecutive close victories -- the last one on the road against Creighton -- and returned home with loads of confidence.

Though they didn't shoot particularly well in the first half, the Sun Devils had one stretch early where everything seemed to be going in, using a 17-2 run to build an early 14-point lead.

Arizona State went back to struggling after its spurt, hitting 10 of 28 shots in the half.

The Sun Devils led by 14 because the Aggies were much worse.

Texas A&M made 3 of 17 from 3-point range in a victory over Florida Gulf State in its last game and continued to clang away against Arizona State. The Aggies shot 6 of 27 in the opening half, making 2 of 11 from 3-point range.

It somehow got worse to start the second half.

Texas A&M had three turnovers and three missed shots to open the half, needing nearly four minutes to score. Arizona State took advantage of the Aggies' eight fouls in the first 3 1/2 minutes, pushing the lead to 42-19.

Arizona State built the lead to 25 before Texas A&M pushed back, using extended defensive pressure to spark an 11-0 run and get within 49-35.

The Aggies continued to give the Sun Devils trouble with their pressure and cut the lead to 62-54 before Holder hit a runner in the lane.

Texas A&M Basketball
Postgame Notes
Arizona State 67, #18 Texas A&M 54
Dec. 5, 2015 ? Wells Fargo Arena

RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
? Texas A&M dropped its second game of the season Saturday night at Arizona State, falling to the Sun Devils 67-54 inside the Wells Fargo Arena.
? ASU now leads the all-time series with the Aggies 5-1

TEAM NOTES
? The Aggies trailed 33-19 at halftime, marking the fewest points the Aggies have scored in an opening half since 18 at Tennessee on Jan. 11, 2014 … A&M shot just 22.2 percent during the opening period (6-for-27).
? Texas A&M trailed by as many as 25 early in the second half, but rallied to pull within eight with just 2:42 to play.
? For the game, the Aggies shot a season-low 31.1 percent, surpassing the previous low mark of 40.6 percent vs. FGCU on Dec. 2.
? Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Anthony Collins, Alex Caruso, Danuel House, Jalen Jones and Tonny Trocha-Morelos for the first time this season (0-1).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
? Senior Danuel House paced all scorers in the contest, finishing with 17 points … The Fresno, Texas, native approached his first career double-double, ending play with a team-best eight rebounds.
? Senior Alex Caruso added a season-high 15 points, going 6-of-10 from the floor.
? Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy fell to 78-63 in his fifth season at Texas A&M and 289-242 in 18 seasons as head coach.

UP NEXT
? The Aggies return to College Station to face off against former Big 12 foe Kansas State on Dec. 12 at Reed Arena … Tip-off is slated for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be televised by SEC Network.