Texas A&M
10-1
Northern Kentucky
7-5
Men's Basketball Downs Northern Kentucky, 64-58
Dec 19, 2017 | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)-- No. 8 Texas A&M has a goal of driving three hours in late March to play in the Final Four in San Antonio.
The Aggies found out Tuesday night they will need star defenders Admon Gilder and Robert Williams nearly every step of the way to achieve that lofty objective.
Senior guard Duane Wilson scored 16 points and A&M escaped with a 64-58 victory over Northern Kentucky, minus Gilder and Williams and two more role players.
The game was tied 44-44 with less than 8 minutes remaining, before A&M (10-1) scored the next five points on transition baskets by Savion Flagg and Wilson and a free throw from Tonny Trocha-Morelos. A&M held on the rest of the way in a too-close-for-comfort contest.
"Defensively they're about as good as we've played against this year," A&M coach Billy Kennedy said of the Norse. "We found a way to win. It's been a crazy week with the injuries."
The Aggies played without Gilder (knee), a junior guard who isn't expected to return until early in Southeastern Conference play in January. Williams (concussion), a sophomore, and fellow forward Isiah Jasey (concussion) and guard T.J. Starks (leg tightness) also didn't play with lesser injuries.
All three are expected back soon, although Williams missed his second consecutive game. Kennedy said Williams, the reigning SEC defender of the year, should return to practice on Wednesday and play against Buffalo on Thursday night.
Both teams were awful from long range in making a combined 9 of 48 3-point attempts, with the Aggies (2 of 20 for 10 percent) worse than the Norse (7 of 28 for 25 percent).
"We've got to keep shooting," Wilson insisted. "Those are shots we work on every day. It was just an off night."
Tyler Davis added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Aggies. Drew McDonald led the Norse (7-5) with 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Despite the close game and overall poor shooting by the Aggies (37 percent from the field), Northern Kentucky coach John Brannen still predicted big things for the top 10 team in the months ahead.
"It's going to be fun watching them moving forward," Brannen said. "Their length and athleticism really reminds me of some of the Kentucky teams. Their discipline and execution and sticking to who they are also is really impressive."
Win number 1??0?? in the books
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 20, 2017
Back at Reed Arena Thursday to take on Buffalo#DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/jn61BY5Mfh
POST GAME NOTES
RECORDS / SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M improved to 10-1 on the season following a 64-58 win over Northern Kentucky on Tuesday night inside Reed Arena.
- The Aggies are 6-0 on their home court this season and now 1-0 all-time against Northern Kentucky.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies shot a season-low 37.1 percent from the field while connecting on just two of 20 attempts from 3-point range.
- The Aggies outrebounded the Norse 48-39 leading to an 18-4 Aggie edge in second-chance points.
- A&M owned a 29-23 lead at the intermission.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of JJ Caldwell, Duane Wilson, DJ Hogg, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Tyler Davis for the first time this season (1-0) … the grouping was A&M's fourth line-up combination of the season.
- A&M played without four players – Admon Gilder, Isiah Jasey, TJ Starks and Robert Williams – who each missed the contest due to injury.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Junior Tyler Davis posted a double-double for the second time in as many games with a 14-point, 10-rebound performance ... it was his ninth career double-double performance … Davis connected on 7-of-12 shots from the field and added three blocks and three assists.
- Senior Duane Wilson led the Aggies in scoring for the second time this season with a 16-point night … the Marquette transfer contributed three assists and four rebounds in a season-high 32 minutes of action.
- Freshman JJ Caldwell drew the first start of his career and paced the team with a four assists ... Caldwell also contributed six points in 32 minutes.
- Junior Savion Flagg registered his first career double-double behind career-highs in points (12) and rebounds (10) … the Alvin, Texas, native added a pair of steals assists seeing while playing a career-high in minutes.
- Aggie head coach Billy Kennedy improved to 125-86 during his seven-year tenure at Texas A&M and 336-265 in 20 seasons as a head coach.
UP NEXT
- The Aggies wrap up their homestand at Reed Arena when they host Buffalo on Thursday at 8 p.m. ... the game will be televised nationally on SEC Network.
Postgame Quotes
"It was a great win as a team. We really came out with the right mindset...Coach just trusted me and I did what I had to do to help us win." -@__hvmble on his 12-point, 10-board night.#DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/2E1sDPe7x7
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 20, 2017
"Every day in practice we battle with each other to make each other better for games like this." -@__hvmble on the team overcoming injuries and picking up the win.#DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/DxQeYvBYR2
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 20, 2017
"Going into the game, we knew we had to be us...at the end of the day it's about Texas A&M Basketball." -@SwaggyDu1 #DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/eBVDZpzoCS
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 20, 2017
"@__hvmble, he comes with it every day...he's one of the guys I always talk about that can have a great freshman year for us." -@SwaggyDu1 #DoMore #12thMan pic.twitter.com/mQqbNctSut
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) December 20, 2017
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening Statement…
"Good hard-fought win against a good team. I thought defensively they are about as good a team as we have played against this year. I thought we found a way to win. It's been a crazy week with the injuries and practice during the holidays. I'm just glad to get a win against a pretty good team."
On players stepping up…
"We were fortunate that Savion Flagg came in and gave us good minutes. Jay Jay Chandler was really good, and JJ Caldwell created some opportunities for us to score. We have a deep team, and the good thing I think is that we were able to play those guys earlier this season, so it's not the first time that they have been in hard-fought, combat type games. All of them have played in just about every game we've played. I thought that was big in helping us win a tough game tonight."
On Savion Flagg…
"He did a lot of good things for us. He got 10 rebounds, 12 points, and made some tough plays with a couple of steals. He is a talented freshman and has versatility to his game. I thought the toughness plays that our team made were really good to see. We figured out a way to win a tough game."
On Northern Kentucky…
"You have to give them credit. They are a tough, physical team. Defensively, they gave us more problems than anybody has really given us from an offensive standpoint. I give them a lot of credit (for our three-point shooting), and then not having another three-point shooter on the floor makes it a lot tougher because they could key in on DJ Hogg."
TEXAS A&M FRESHMAN FORWARD SAVION FLAGG
On preparing for his play tonight…
"Coach said next man up with everybody out. Coach needed people to step up, and luckily my name was called and they trusted me enough in the program. I did what I had to do to help my team get a win. Whatever coach needs me to do to secure a win, I'll do it. Anything I need to do to help my team get a win, I'll do."
TEXAS A&M GRADUATE TRANSFER GUARD DUANE WILSON
On the team's attitude heading into the game…
"It was really just next man up and to focus on the guys that were suiting up and getting ready for us. I felt like our younger guys did a good job stepping up, especially Savion (Flagg) having a double-double tonight. That was huge for us. Those rebounds at the end of the game, we needed those. I just felt like overall as a team we stuck together. We knew Northern Kentucky was going to be a great team and give us a tough battle. I feel like we were well prepared for it. I knew their name and that they were a solid team."
NORTHERN KENTUCKY HEAD COACH JOHN BRANNEN
Opening Statement...
"For us coming in, we were obviously excited to get a chance to play a team the caliber of Texas A&M. We just played Sunday afternoon. I thought our guys competed. I thought we played extremely hard, and I thought we executed our game plan. Offensive rebounding and the inability to make open shots for us were the reasons I think we were unable to close. The length and athleticism that Texas A&M has just dwarfed us."
