Aggies Cruise to 113-66 Win Over Savannah State

Wednesday, December 13

College Station

7 p.m.

Texas A&M

9-1

113

Savannah State

3-9

Savannah State

Texas A&M

113

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Dec 13, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score A&M 113, SSU 66 - Final Stats (PDF)Highlights Interviews Tyler Davis Postgame Interview

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Tyler Davis recorded a double-double before halftime and No. 9 Texas A&M put seven players in double figures while rolling over Savannah State 113-66 on Wednesday night.

D.J. Hogg led the balanced scoring for the Aggies (9-1) with 18 points. Davis overpowered the smaller Tigers (3-8) near the basket, finishing with 17 rebounds and 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

A&M produced its highest point total since the 1989-90 season, connecting on a school-record 16 3-pointers in 38 attempts. Hogg made 5 of 9 from 3-point range, while point guard Duane Wilson and reserve T.J. Starks hit four apiece.

Javaris Jenkins led Savannah State of the MEAC with 18 points. The Tigers, who lead the country in 3-point attempts, fired 40 shots from beyond the arc, making 12.

The Aggies scored the last 10 points of the first half, building a 52-33 lead. Savannah State got no closer than 19 points in the second half.

Texas A&M Basketball Postgame Notes
#9 Texas A&M 113, Savannah State 66
Dec. 13, 2017
Reed Arena (College Station, Texas)
RECORDS / SERIES NOTES

Texas A&M improved to 9-1 on the season following a 113-66 victory over Savannah State inside Reed Arena on Wednesday night.
A&M's 9-1 record stands out as the best start to a season since the 2010-11 Aggies also began with nine wins in their first 10 contests.
The all-time series between Texas A&M and Savannah State now stands at 2-0 in favor of the Aggies.

TEAM NOTES

Texas A&M surpassed the 100-point mark for the 56th time in program history … the game also stands out as the fourth 100-point game in the Billy Kennedy era as well as the first since the Aggies scored 100 points against Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 16, 2015.
The 113 points were the most A&M has scored in a game since putting up 114 against Florida International on Dec. 21, 1989.
The Aggies knocked down a school-record 16 3-pointers in the contest, breaking the previous record of 14 set against Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 16, 2015.
A&M registered 32 assists vs. the Tigers, its first 30-assist game since totaling 32 against USC Upstate on Nov. 13, 2015 … the 32 assists is the third-highest total for a game in program history as well as the most since 32 against Houston on Dec. 22, 1986.
A&M pulled down 64 rebounds in the contest, a figured that tied for the eighth most in school history alongside similar 64-rebound performances vs. Houston Baptist (12/6/75) and TCU (2/3/73).
Overall, Texas A&M owned a 65-35 edge in rebounding to elevate its season rebounding margin to +10.3 per game this season.
The Aggies scored the final 10 points of the opening period as part of a larger 17-3 run that gave A&M a 52-33 lead at intermission.
Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Duane Wilson, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Tyler Davis for the fifth time this season (5-0).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Senior Tonny Trocha-Morelos notched his second career double-double and neared the first triple-double for the Aggies in 15 seasons as the Colombia native finished with 13 rebounds, 10 points and seven assists … The 13 boards were career-bests for the senior.
Junior Tyler Davis enjoyed one the best performances of his collegiate career as the big man notched his eighth career double-double prior to halftime … The Plano, Texas, native, finished the day with 13 points and a season-high 17 rebounds in just 24 minutes of action.
Junior DJ Hogg scored in doubles figures for the ninth time in 10 games this season, pouring in 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc … The five made 3-pointers matched a season high for the Plano West HS graduate.
Junior Admon Gilder shot 7-for-14 from the floor to pitch in 15 points against the Tigers, adding a trio of steals and assists in 22 minutes of action.
Senior Duane Wilson connected on four 3-pointers on the night, the most by the Marquette transfer in the Maroon & White … Wilson finished with 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals on the night.
Freshman TJ Starks scored a career-best 12 points against Savannah State, finishing 4-for-10 from the floor with all four made baskets from beyond the 3-point arc ... The night marked the second time Starks has scored in double-figures since donning the Maroon & White.
Junior Chris Collins notched a season-high 10 points, reaching double figures for the second time in his career … The Friendswood native went 4-for-7 from the floor in eight minutes of action.
Aggie head coach Billy Kennedy improved to 124-86 during his seven-year tenure at Texas A&M and 334-265 in 20 seasons as a head coach.

UP NEXT

The Aggies continue their homestand at Reed Arena when they host Northern Kentucky on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ... the game will be available digitally on SEC Network PLUS.

TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening Statement… "It was good to get a chance to play everybody. I thought everybody gave some positive minutes. 32 assists and 65 rebounds really got it going on both ends of the floor. It was good for us to share the ball like we did and obviously they were overmatched."

On game today… "They played up tempo and they put you in a position where you're going to get shots and transition. They shoot it so quick that it brought along rebounds and when the guards rebound the ball like that we are able to get in some baskets in and transition."

On Chris Collins… "Chris is a good player. We have a lot of guards we were trying to get playing time today and we have a lot of young talented guards. Chris has been one of our better perimeter players in practice many days."

On Savannah State scoring first two threes in game… "They have played that way against everybody on the road. The first 15 minutes it has been a ball game. They were beating Wichita State for I think the first 15 minutes and then in the last five minutes of the half, it catches up with you."

Importance of this game… "It is always good from a coaches stand point to play a game like this where everyone gets to play and play well and everyone leaves with a big smile on their face. I thought JJ Caldwell played with some really good minutes. He hadn't had the chance to play that many minutes in a row. It was good to see what he could do to help."

Update on Robert [Williams]… "It's a day to day deal. We have got some time and we will need him again against both of these teams coming in; Northern Kentucky and Buffalo are both teams that will be competing for the NCAA tournament play. Northern Kentucky was in the tournament last year and they have a lot of guys back so we are going to see better competition next week."

TEXAS A&M SENIOR CENTER TONNY TROCHA-MORELOS
On game today… "Coach Kennedy told us it was going to be a totally different game for us. We watched film last night and we knew they were going to come and shoot a bunch of three's. We shoot 38 shots but it was because we were open and because Coach Kennedy kept trusting everybody to shoot."

On if outshooting Savannah State was a goal… "I mean I wouldn't say that because they were trying to let the guys from the other side play. If you saw when as soon as he [Tyler Davis] got the ball he had about 2-3 guys. They were not pressuring the wing at all. We weren't trying to shoot that many three's but we ended up shooting 38 threes and if they were open Coach Kennedy wouldn't get mad if we took the shot."

TEXAS A&M JUNIOR CENTER TYLER DAVIS
On overall game today… "I thought it was a fun game. They were shooting a lot of shots and we were shooting a lot of shots. They tried to zone us but like I said it was fun watching the guys get up and down. We had some highlight plays, some cool dunks. It was a lot of fun watching that."

On defense against… "They really packed the paint against me and Tonny, especially in their zone, leaving the top wide open. They were trying not to let us kill them inside. But our guards did really well, they made shots, DJ (Hogg), Admon (Gilder) and everybody."

On chance for 20/20… "I knew because my teammates kept telling me. But it wasn't about stats it was about playing hard and bringing good energy so we could have a good start to the game."

SAVANNAH STATE HEAD COACH HORACE BROADNAX
Opening Statement... "I like Billy and I think he does an awesome job. This is a power-five conference. Our objective was to get through this non-conference schedule and compete in our conference. A&M has some good talent out there. Hopefully they will compete extremely well in the SEC, they are in the top-10 right now. I understand that it's hard for them to get up for a team like us. I think they will fare very well against the Kentucky's and the Florida's of the league. I know they were short one guy but they looked real good."

On playing their style… "If we try to play slow it will be a slow death so we try to play fast to create more possessions. That's what we try to do against a more comparable team. Obviously, this is a high quality opponent but we can't change our style because of who we're playing. We try to keep it in perspective. Try to talk to these kids about keeping their heads up and competing when things are tough. If this is the toughest thing you have to deal with as a basketball player or as a person then you're going to have a good life. There were a couple of stretches where we put our head down and didn't compete. They got a lot of easy transition layups because we like to crash the glass. Obviously, they are huge in size. We got 66 points out of it and we'll move on to the next."

Aggies happy to be home…
Reed Arena is rocking as No. 9 Texas A&M routs Savannah State, 113-66. pic.twitter.com/SQU6wob4x3
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) December 14, 2017

Defense ?? offense. @hph_lilmon does it on both ends.#DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/HCAghoeDBJ
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 14, 2017

That H-town connection. @YoungPg_ finds @__hvmble for the easy slam. #DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/PudIWa8L6H
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 14, 2017