Thursday, November 30
College Station
7 p.m.
Texas A&M
7-0
78
vs
60
UTRGV
3-6
1
2
F
UTRGV
28
32
60
Texas A&M
40
38
78
Photo by: John Cavalier/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 9 Men's Basketball Bucks Vaqueros, 78-60
Nov 30, 2017 | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)-- Texas A&M guard Admon Gilder claimed the Aggies had a slow start Thursday, long before their tipoff against Texas-Rio Grande Valley.
"We had a slow shootaround, which carried over to the game," Gilder said.
It certainly didn't carry over for the first 5 minutes.
Gilder and fellow guard D.J. Hogg scored 17 points each and the ninth-ranked Aggies used a 16-0 start on the way to a 78-60 victory over UTRGV.
A&M's sluggishness came in maintaining a wide margin throughout. The Aggies (7-0) only led the Vaqueros (3-6) by seven points with more than 7 minutes remaining before pulling away and staying undefeated on the season.
UTRGV kept the game closer than many had anticipated through 33 minutes based in part on the Aggies' struggles from the free throw line. A&M made 18 of 30 from the free throw line compared to 11 of 13 for the Vaqueros.
The Vaqueros cut the Aggies' lead to 57-50 on a short jumper by Mike Hoffman in the lane with 7:30 remaining, but the Aggies quickly responded on the other end when Tyler Davis found Tonny Trocha-Morelos wide open under the basket for a dunk and a nine-point lead.
"We never really established a rhythm and put them away when we should have put them away," A&M coach Billy Kennedy said.
Trocha-Morelos's basket marked the first of nine consecutive points by A&M in putting away the Vaqueros down the stretch.
"We try and take every game the same, but we do have a target on our backs," Hogg said of the Aggies sliding into the top 10 this week. "Now we're getting everybody's best shot."
UTRGV is coached by Lew Hill, an A&M assistant from 1998-2004 under then-coach Melvin Watkins. Nick Dixon led the Vaqueros with 13 points and Dan Kimasa followed with 12.
A&M has won all of its games by double digits, and despite the overall sluggishness Thursday was no different.
"I told the guys before the game, `Hey just come out here and fight and see what happens," Hill said. "You have to fight, to give yourself a chance."
Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Kennedy
Opening Statement…
"Obviously, I'm definitely not very happy with the win. I thought the team could never get comfortable offensively or defensively. I probably tried to play too many people early and just when they were sustained I acted on both ends of the floor. We played 40 minutes of zone and press back into the zone was something different than we expected and did not move the ball as well as we should've."
On zone defense…
"We saw a lot of zone against USC and really played well against the zone. We got the ball inside and I thought we did good at inside as well as we wanted to. In tonight's game different lineups on the floor at different times. We have got to be able to push through that."
On freshman line up…
"I am trying to play guys and get them ready for the long term. We are trying to get some guys some experience. We are going to need to call them up at different times of the year, and you don't know that until you go through it."
On Robert Williams…
"Well we want him to be more offensive minded and sometimes he is too unselfish. I thought we didn't do a good job of when we got the ball thrown to the zone he passed it out a number of times. He's got three assists and those are possible opportunities to score, but that is kind of his game. He has got to get more offensive rebounds, and I thought we didn't do a good job. Only having 10 offensive rebounds and 29 misses is not enough."
Thoughts on the season…
"I mean we are undefeated. So I am pleased we went 18 for 30 at the free-throw line. Tyler has been shooting over 80 percent from the line. We missed a lot of free throws and never really established a rhythm to put them away when we should have put them away."
Texas A&M Junior Guard Admon Gilder
On today's performance…
"The energy level wasn't there the whole 40 minutes of the game. We had a slow shoot-around, which carried over to the game. They played a zone again and packed it in, and we weren't hitting shots today with guys being gone, and then they made their runs. You've got to give them credit for that."
On transitioning roles on the team…
"I feel really comfortable going from the 1 to the 2. We have a lot of depth on this team, and we have three point guards who can score tonight. For me, I'm just playing how I used to play in my transition to getting shots in the hoop. Anything to help this team win."
Texas A&M Junior Forward DJ Hogg
On being ranked in the Top 10…
"We take every game the same, but we do have a target on our backs now especially that we're in the Top 10. We're everybody's biggest game of the year. We've just got to come in the same we have been with better intensity and get everybody's best shot."
On the second half…
"We had shots falling, we just couldn't score. I think they cut it (the lead) to seven or six at one point, so they got it pretty close, but we pulled it away. We just have to play our basketball and get organized."
"We had a slow shootaround, which carried over to the game," Gilder said.
It certainly didn't carry over for the first 5 minutes.
Gilder and fellow guard D.J. Hogg scored 17 points each and the ninth-ranked Aggies used a 16-0 start on the way to a 78-60 victory over UTRGV.
A&M's sluggishness came in maintaining a wide margin throughout. The Aggies (7-0) only led the Vaqueros (3-6) by seven points with more than 7 minutes remaining before pulling away and staying undefeated on the season.
UTRGV kept the game closer than many had anticipated through 33 minutes based in part on the Aggies' struggles from the free throw line. A&M made 18 of 30 from the free throw line compared to 11 of 13 for the Vaqueros.
The Vaqueros cut the Aggies' lead to 57-50 on a short jumper by Mike Hoffman in the lane with 7:30 remaining, but the Aggies quickly responded on the other end when Tyler Davis found Tonny Trocha-Morelos wide open under the basket for a dunk and a nine-point lead.
"We never really established a rhythm and put them away when we should have put them away," A&M coach Billy Kennedy said.
Trocha-Morelos's basket marked the first of nine consecutive points by A&M in putting away the Vaqueros down the stretch.
"We try and take every game the same, but we do have a target on our backs," Hogg said of the Aggies sliding into the top 10 this week. "Now we're getting everybody's best shot."
UTRGV is coached by Lew Hill, an A&M assistant from 1998-2004 under then-coach Melvin Watkins. Nick Dixon led the Vaqueros with 13 points and Dan Kimasa followed with 12.
A&M has won all of its games by double digits, and despite the overall sluggishness Thursday was no different.
"I told the guys before the game, `Hey just come out here and fight and see what happens," Hill said. "You have to fight, to give yourself a chance."
Dominate on both ends.
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 1, 2017
Watch @rob_williamsIII (4 pts, 14 rebs) finish the alley-oop then rise up for the block.#DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/lHiLulxcct
9 pts, 4 rebs tonight for the big man @tonny10dt
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 1, 2017
Check out his slam in the 2nd half.#DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/ucIELJvzKZ
POSTGAME NOTES
RECORDS / SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M improved to 7-0 with a 78-60 win over UTRGV on Thursday night at the Reed Arena … the seventh consecutive win marked the Aggies' best start to a season under Billy Kennedy, topping 6-0 starts in the 2013-14 & 2015-16 seasons.
- The Aggies now lead the all-time series with UTRGV (formerly Texas-Pan American) 5-1.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies began the game on a 16-0 run, not allowing a Vaqueros field goal until the 14:30 mark.
- A&M held UTRGV to just 31.4 percent shooting for the game, their lowest percentage of the season.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Duane Wilson, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg, Robert Williams and Tyler Davis for the second time this season (2-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Junior DJ Hogg notched his second career double-double by contributing 17 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes of action … Hogg earned high-point honors for the fifth time this season.
- Fellow junior Admon Gilder made 5-of-9 field goals, including a trio of field goal baskets, to share high-point honors alongside Hogg.
- Junior Tyler Davis also reached double-digit scoring, contributing 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
- Sophomore Robert Williams added to his nation-leading blocked shot streak, swatting two attempts to give him at least one block in 36 consecutive games … the Oil City, La., native finished with a season-high 14 rebounds, falling just short of his career-high of 16 set against Missouri last season (2/7/17).
- With the win, Billy Kennedy improved to 122-85 during his seven-year tenure at Texas A&M and 333-264 in 20 seasons as a head coach.
UP NEXT
- The Aggies are back on the road as they travel to Phoenix, Ariz., to face Arizona inside Talking Stick Arena during the Valley of the Sun Shootout on Tuesday … the game will tip off at 8 p.m. (CT) and air on ESPN2.
POSTGAME QUOTES
.@hph_lilmon on the Aggies' 18-point win Thursday night: #12thMan pic.twitter.com/GkNW4be6f1
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 1, 2017
"You feel the energy they provide each and every game." -@hph_lilmon on playing in front of the #12thMan pic.twitter.com/QjJDV57OUN
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 1, 2017
Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Kennedy
Opening Statement…
"Obviously, I'm definitely not very happy with the win. I thought the team could never get comfortable offensively or defensively. I probably tried to play too many people early and just when they were sustained I acted on both ends of the floor. We played 40 minutes of zone and press back into the zone was something different than we expected and did not move the ball as well as we should've."
On zone defense…
"We saw a lot of zone against USC and really played well against the zone. We got the ball inside and I thought we did good at inside as well as we wanted to. In tonight's game different lineups on the floor at different times. We have got to be able to push through that."
On freshman line up…
"I am trying to play guys and get them ready for the long term. We are trying to get some guys some experience. We are going to need to call them up at different times of the year, and you don't know that until you go through it."
On Robert Williams…
"Well we want him to be more offensive minded and sometimes he is too unselfish. I thought we didn't do a good job of when we got the ball thrown to the zone he passed it out a number of times. He's got three assists and those are possible opportunities to score, but that is kind of his game. He has got to get more offensive rebounds, and I thought we didn't do a good job. Only having 10 offensive rebounds and 29 misses is not enough."
Thoughts on the season…
"I mean we are undefeated. So I am pleased we went 18 for 30 at the free-throw line. Tyler has been shooting over 80 percent from the line. We missed a lot of free throws and never really established a rhythm to put them away when we should have put them away."
Texas A&M Junior Guard Admon Gilder
On today's performance…
"The energy level wasn't there the whole 40 minutes of the game. We had a slow shoot-around, which carried over to the game. They played a zone again and packed it in, and we weren't hitting shots today with guys being gone, and then they made their runs. You've got to give them credit for that."
On transitioning roles on the team…
"I feel really comfortable going from the 1 to the 2. We have a lot of depth on this team, and we have three point guards who can score tonight. For me, I'm just playing how I used to play in my transition to getting shots in the hoop. Anything to help this team win."
Texas A&M Junior Forward DJ Hogg
On being ranked in the Top 10…
"We take every game the same, but we do have a target on our backs now especially that we're in the Top 10. We're everybody's biggest game of the year. We've just got to come in the same we have been with better intensity and get everybody's best shot."
On the second half…
"We had shots falling, we just couldn't score. I think they cut it (the lead) to seven or six at one point, so they got it pretty close, but we pulled it away. We just have to play our basketball and get organized."
Team Stats
UTRGV
TAMU
FG%
.306
.473
3FG%
.185
.348
FT%
.846
.600
RB
39
47
TO
9
13
STL
8
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
C
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/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
G
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