Texas A&M
6-0
USC
4-1
No. 16 Basketball Gets Big Road Win at No. 10 USC, 75-59
Nov 26, 2017 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES (AP)--D.J. Hogg scored 15 points and No. 16 Texas A&M pulled away for good with a 19-3 run in the second half to beat 10th-ranked Southern California 75-59 on Sunday night in the first matchup of ranked opponents at Galen Center since 2007.
Duane Wilson added 13 points and Tyler Davis had 10 for the Aggies (7-0), who tied their best start under coach Billy Kennedy.
Chimezie Metu scored 13 points for the Trojans (4-1). Their 21-game home non-conference winning streak was snapped.
USC opened the second half on an 11-4 run, with Metu's dunks sandwiching the run that included a 3-pointer by Elijah Stewart and tied the game at 42-all.
But the Aggies put the game away with their decisive run that gave them a 61-45 lead. T.J. Starks scored eight points, one of five players who contributed in the spurt.
The Trojans never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way. Their leading scorer, Bennie Boatwright, sat for a long stretch in the second half because of foul trouble.
USC was limited to 28 percent shooting from the floor and got outrebounded 52-39.
The Aggies twice led by nine in the first half, taking a 21-12 lead to start the game.
USC got within two three times, but couldn't take the lead while shooting 31 percent.
"It's a great road win. We're going to need that in March." first thoughts from @hph_lilmon following Sunday's victory at USC: #12thman pic.twitter.com/KnVqHNc0l8
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) November 27, 2017
"It was a great team win." Comments from @teedino_ right after the victory at USC: #12thman pic.twitter.com/4pTaG9GNlM
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) November 27, 2017
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS / SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M improved to 6-0 with a 75-59 win over No. 10 USC on Sunday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles … the sixth consecutive win tied the Aggies' best start to a season under Billy Kennedy alongside similar 6-0 starts in the 2013-14 & 2015-16 seasons.
- Additionally, the win vs. USC gave A&M just its third-ever road win at a top-10 opponent … Previously, A&M has knocked off No. 6 Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., on Feb. 3, 2007, and No. 5 Texas in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 30, 1982.
- Texas A&M now has a pair of wins over highly-ranked national opponents this season, an 88-65 victory over No. 11 West Virginia on Nov. 11 and tonight's win vs. No. 10 USC.
- The all-time series between the schools now stands at 2-1 in favor of the Trojans.
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M held USC to season-lows in both points (59) and field goal percentage (28.2 percent) … the Trojans' shooting percentage was the lowest by an Aggie opponent this season.
- A&M boasted five players who pulled down seven or more rebounds leading to a 52-39 advantage on the glass.
- The Aggies wrestled control of the game away from the Trojans with an 11-0 run mid-way through the second half that left them with a 61-45 advantage after a DJ Hogg 3-pointer with 8:34 to play.
- Texas A&M led by as many as nine during the game's opening 20 minutes before taking a 38-31 lead into the intermission.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Duane Wilson, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg, Robert Willams and Tyler Davis for the first time this season (1-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Texas A&M put five players in double-figure scoring for the second time this season – DJ Hogg (15 points), Duane Wilson (13), Tyler Davis (10), Tonny Trocha-Morelos (10) and TJ Starks (1).
- Hogg led the Aggies in scoring for the fourth time this season while adding eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.
- The 10 points were a personal best for the rookie Starks, who made 5-of-9 field goal attempts.
- Junior Admon Gilder pulled down a career-high 10 boards to go along with nine points and three assists in 30 minutes of action.
- With the win, Billy Kennedy improved to 121-85 during his seven-year tenure at Texas A&M and 332-264 in 20 seasons as a head coach.
UP NEXT
- The Aggies return to College Station where they will host UTRGV inside Reed Arena at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
