Men's Basketball Drops Tarleton State, 72-46

Friday, November 3

College Station

7 p.m.

Texas A&M

Tarleton State

Texas A&M

Photo by: Spencer Gnauck/Texas A&M Athletics

Nov 03, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score BOX: A&M 72, TSU 46

By: 12thman.com

COLLEGE STATION--T.J. Starks had a game-high 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting to lead Texas A&M to a 72-46 win over Tarleton State before 6,267 fans in exhibition action Friday night inside Reed Arena.

The Aggies will officially open the season next Friday, Nov. 10, when they travel to Ramstein Air Base in Germany to face 10th-ranked West Virginia in the State Farm Armed Forces Classic (5 p.m. CT, ESPN).

KEY MOMENTS

Duane Wilson kick-started A&M's first key run of the game about 13 minutes in, scoring seven straight points—the final bucket coming from 3-point range—to extend the Aggie lead from two (17-15) to nine (24-15).
The run would extend to 17-0, and TJ Starks heated up on the back half of it, cashing in the final 7 points of it. Starks capped the run with a 3-pointer in the corner off a great steal and pass from Wilson. A&M would take a 34-19 lead into the locker room.
With the Aggies leading 46-29 almost halfway in to the second half, Chris Collins made a slick move at the top of the key, faking a three and then driving through traffic for a nice layup. Then, two possessions later, he nailed a three on the wing to put A&M up by 22 (51-29) at the 10:31 mark.
Tarleton went 7 minutes of the second half without a bucket, recording just a few free throws. A&M extended its lead 10 points over the stretch.

POSTGAME NOTES

TEAM NOTES

47 of the Aggies' 72 total points (65%) were scored by players who were not on the Aggies' roster last season.
The Aggies' defensive pressure forced 17 TSU turnovers and limited the Texans to just 26.8 percent shooting (15-of-56) from the field.
Texas A&M owned a 34-19 lead at the intermission after taking control of the game with a 17-0 run late in the period.
A&M played without four players – JJ Caldwell, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg and Robert Williams - who were all suspended for violations of Texas A&M policy.
Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Duane Wilson, Jay Jay Chandler, Savion Flagg, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Tyler Davis.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Freshman TJ Starks scored a game-high 21 points in the win, converting 8-of-10 shots from the field and all four of his free throw attempts.
Joining Starks in double-digit scoring were Tonny Trocha-Morelos (11 points) and Duane Wilson (10 points) … Wilson also chipped in a game-high five assists on the night.

QUOTES

TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY

Opening Statement: "I have a lot of respect for Coach Reisman and Tarleton State. He is a heck of a coach. I thought we did a good job defensively. I thought offensively in the second half we shared the ball and moved the ball. We had some guys who have not played a lot in the past, but came in here the first game and played the way we wanted them to play. We were happy to see that."

On suspended players: "It is disappointing obviously, but it is something we have to move on from fast because we have West Virginia coming up quick. We have been thinking about them and that is where all our focus will be, so we will be in preparation for that. It is part of the process with a young team. Some teams have to go through different things at different times of the year, and I would much rather go through it at this time of the year and get it addressed, learn from it, put it behind us, and move on."

On playing the bench: "I got a great look at our bench, so that was great experience for our young guys because I plan on playing those guys. They are talented and young. I was pleased with Duane Wilson coming in as a senior and being steady at the point. His numbers were good. I liked the fact that we shared the ball some, especially in the second half. TJ Starks is a guy who has a chance to be a really good player for us. I thought he did a good job of playing with the pace."

On defensive pressure: "We are trying to pressure more defensively. I thought that was something we tried to ratchet up. We think we are more athletic, and we like our young guys. We think we can speed the game up defensively more than we have in the last couple of years. We did it in our scrimmages and tried to do it against Texas."

JUNIOR CENTER TYLER DAVIS

On tonight's game: "It was really fun watching TJ (Starks) go for 21. That was pretty cool."

On playing with new additions: "I think that was the fun of the game was playing with those guys. Just watching them go out there and have fun. I just kept thinking last night that it was going to be a different kind of game. We're going to make mistakes but just have to be a good leader, great communicator today."

On the team moving forward: "Everyone is working hard. I believe in my teammates and I know that when those guys return, when it's their time, they're going to be ready to make a big impact for the team. Right now we're just focused on who is playing and we're rolling."

TARLETON STATE HEAD COACH LONN REISMAN

On A&M missing key players: "I thought it made them much quicker. When I watched on film I thought they were going to be 6'11", 6'10", and 6'9" to where we were going to be able to spread the floor a little more on them and all the sudden those big ones aren't in there, so I thought their guards played really well by bringing the pressure. We did not think they were going to bring that pressure from watching film from last year. I thought that was a game changer for them. Their quickness and ability to deny in the passing lanes really kind of shocked us because we were expecting a bigger line up."

On how team played: "I think we are disappointed. We are still out of sync right now and we are a young team right now. There were some positives in here. I thought we battled on the boards really well. We just did not really shoot the ball that well tonight at all. We both took 56 shots and they make 26 and we make 15. That has a lot to do with our defense. We had 17 turnovers. They had 12. I think the bottom line is that they are much ahead of us offensively in what they are doing. But I thought the big difference in the game was transition defense. That was a big factor in the game"

"It was a blessing...We're just getting started." -@teedino_ on kicking the season off with the exhibition win. #12thMan pic.twitter.com/0KabMBrDKv
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) November 4, 2017