Aggies Roll Northridge in Wooden Legacy Opener

Thursday, November 24

Fullerton, Calif.

1:00 PM

Texas A&M

3-1

Cal State Northridge

2-3

Texas A&M

CSUN

Photo by: ESPN Images

Nov 24, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photos Box: A&M 95, CSUN 73 (PDF)

By: Associated Press/Texas A&M Media Relations

FULLERTON, Calif. -- D.J. Hogg scored 25 points, Admon Gilder added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Texas A&M cruised to a comfortable 95-73 win over Cal State Northridge in the first round of the Wooden Legacy at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday.

The Aggies (3-1) used a 27-4 run over the final 7:31 of the first half to separate from the Matadors (2-3), holding CSUN without a field goal for the final 9:12 and off the scoreboard entirely for the final 4:28.

Hogg provided the offense early on for Texas A&M, scoring 10 of the team's first 14 points, but things got stagnant after he picked up his second foul with 15:11 remaining and sat for the rest of the half. It wasn't until Gilder and Tyler Davisgot going, combining for 18 points and eight assists in the half, that Texas A&M found its footing.

Micheal Warren had 19 points and Tavrion Dawson added 13 for CSUN, which has now dropped its three games against Power 5 opposition by an average of 21.3 points.

BIG PICTURE

Texas A&M: The Aggies found their offensive balance. Texas A&M only had three scorers in double figures and was 6 of 23 from 3-point range in its loss to Southern California last week, but had seven players with at least eight points on Thursday as the shot selection and ball distribution was much improved. With a young lineup starting three sophomore and bringing touted freshman Robert Williams off the bench, spreading out production will be key during the ups and downs of SEC play.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M is only assured of one more nonconference game against Power 5 opposition, a December 17th game against No. 8 Arizona. The Aggies will hope to draw Virginia Tech for Friday's second-round game and get a showcase against the Bruins in the championship game Sunday.

Texas A&M Basketball
Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 95, CSUN 73
Nov. 24, 2016 - Titan Gym (Fullerton, Calif.)

RECORDS & SERIES NOTES

The Aggies improved to 3-1 with a 95-73 victory over CSUN Thursday during the opening round of the 2016 Wooden Legacy at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.
The meeting was the first ever between the two schools on the hardwood.

TEAM NOTES

The 53 points scored by the Aggies during the first half set a Wooden Legacy record for points in an opening stanza.
Texas A&M held an opponent under 38 percent shooting for the fourth consecutive game, allowing the Matadors to convert just 37.5 percent of their attempts in the contest (24-for-64).
On the offensive end the Aggies shot 53.1 percent (34-of-64), including a blistering 20-of-34 mark (58.8 percent) in the first half.
A&M ended the opening period on a 17-0 run, holding the Matadors without a field goal for the half's final 9:12 to take a 53-28 lead into the intermission.
Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of JC Hampton, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Tyler Davis for the fourth time this season (3-1).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Sophomore forward DJ Hogg got off to a torrid start in the contest, scoring 10 points in the game's first 4:23 en route to finishing with a career-high 25 points … The sharpshooter finished 9-of-12 from the field with a 3-of-4 mark from 3-point range.
Sophomore guard Admon Gilder also enjoyed a big afternoon, setting his personal best with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting … The Dallas native added seven boards and five assists (just one turnover) in the win.
Freshman Robert Williams tied his season high with 11 points, while sharing top rebounding honors at seven with Gilder and senior Tavaio Miller. Williams also added a game-best four blocks during the outing.
Graduate senior transfer JC Hampton also hit a season best with nine points, connecting on 3-of-5 3-point field goals.
Freshmen Mark French and Kyle Nugent each made their Texas A&M debuts in the contest, while sophomore Frank Byers saw his first action of the season.
Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy improved to 102-71 in his sixth season at Texas A&M and 313-250 in 19 seasons as head coach.

UP NEXT

The Aggies return to the court tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. (CT) where they will face the winner of today's New Mexico-Virginia Tech matchup in the winner's bracket of the 2016 Wooden Legacy.

2016 Wooden Legacy
Thursday, November 24, 2016
Post-Game Quotes - Texas A&M 95, CSUN 73

Texas A&M Coach Billy Kennedy - "Really proud of our guys for sharing the ball we had 21 assists, thought we did a good job of making the right play offensively. We made shots and we hadn't shot the ball well and today we were able to score."

What were you able to get going to get the run at the end? – "He's a big piece for us, I thought our zone held us, we were able to get stops, and plays in transition, we made open shot and the floodgate broke open and we finally started making shot and made free throws"

On team effort in first half? - "They continued to take quick shots in transition and their confidence got going and were an inside oriented team so that opened up some opportunities for us on the perimeter and I thought Jason had a good rhythm and did a good job for as fast as confidence when he hit that three everyone else kind of bit off of it"

On Rob Williams future? - "He's just adjusting to the level he can make plays that a lot of guys can't, he can shot block, and run the floor we just have to get him tuned in more he's young, really talented, and a big force for us offensively and defensively"

How encouraging was this win? "It was good for us because Eric Vila we have a lot of length and our zone is good, we hadn't played a lot of it the first three games. But when we have it's been good for us. Unfortunately, though it gave us some opportunities, I don't know how much they're prepared for it because we haven't played it in a while. So, I think the surprise element helped us more than anything and hopefully tomorrow we can be as efficient."

DJ Hogg on being able execute even in foul trouble - It's a great feeling especially when you get wide-open shots. Its tough when you get in slumps but games where you come out tough and make the first shot and get to the free throw line, it just makes the game a lot easier."

CSUN Coach Reggie Theus - "These kinds of press conferences are always tough. It's very difficult when you start a game and have a problem keeping your bigs on the floor. The early foul trouble got us going in the wrong direction. There were four or five shots early in the game that didn't fall for us. Early in the half, when it was 26-21, or 26-20, the game just got away from us. They're size was a big factor throughout the game. This is a team (Texas A&M) that last Saturday got beat at home, so I told the team that this team was going to come in with a chip on their shoulder. This was a big game for them and to their credit; they played like guys really intent on winning this basketball game. They shot the ball well from every area, rebounded, and outplayed us in every area. I thought that our guys fought hard for a while, but over the course of the first half, they had too much size and there were too many fouls for us."

On Texas A&M's zone defense? - "We didn't shoot the ball particularly well. We shot for the game, 38% from the 3-point line. I just thought that the ball movement wasn't there. If you're playing against a zone and you can't get the ball inside, than that's a problem. Our bigs were stuck on the bench with foul trouble. You end up becoming a perimeter team vs the zone, and if you're not knocking down shots, then it becomes a problem.
On tomorrow's game and looking towards the rest of the tournament."

"I put a challenge to our guys and let them know that we still have two games left in this tournament. To go 2-1 in this tournament is still a really good deal, and this is about character. This is about who you are as people, and who you are when there is adversity in your life. These are life lessons that last for the rest of your life. Losing a game is not the end of the world for us. The bottom line is how you come back and that is most important. That's the conversation I had with my guys, and we'll find out. I told them, I'm going to learn a lot about them tomorrow."

On Junior Guard, Michael Warren's game today? - "I thought Mikey played really well today. He missed the first three games of the season. I was really happy since he hasn't got into a rhythm yet. So I tried to get him some extra reps today. I thought he came out and played really well. Mikey is a basketball player. Defensively he moves well, he has a great IQ, and I expect him to be a force in our conference when that time comes. He needed games, and I hope this was a turning point for him."