Gilder, Williams Help Aggies Power Past Auburn

Saturday, February 18

College Station

3:00 PM

Texas A&M

6-814-12; SEC

Auburn

5-916-11; SEC

Auburn

Texas A&M

Photo by: Thomas Campbell/Texas A&M Athletics

Feb 18, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box: A&M 81, AUB 62 (PDF)Photos

By: Associated Press / Texas A&M Media Relations

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Admon Gilder scored 17 points and Robert Williams blocked a career-high six shots as Texas A&M defeated Auburn 81-62 on Saturday.

The Aggies (14-12, 6-8 Southeastern) led 20-6 less than eight minutes into the game and held on to a double-digit lead the rest of the way. A&M shot a season-best 68.9 percent from the field (31 of 45), also third-best showing in school history, compared to 34.3 percent (23 of 67) for Auburn.

In addition to Williams collecting six of the Aggies' eight blocks, the dynamic freshman also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and added 13 points.

Mustapha Heron led the Tigers (16-11, 5-9) with 20 points and Ronnie Johnson followed with 12.

Both teams entered Saturday's action having lost two consecutive SEC games.

Texas A&M Basketball
Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 81, Auburn 62
Feb. 18, 2017 - Reed Arena (College Station, Texas)

RECORDS & SERIES NOTES

Texas A&M improved to 14-12 on the season with a 6-8 mark in SEC play following a 81-62 win over Auburn Saturday afternoon inside Reed Arena.
The all-time series between the schools now stands at 9-4 in favor of the Aggies.

TEAM NOTES

Texas A&M used a balanced scoring attack, placing five players in double-digit scoring … It marked the fourth time this season that A&M had five or more players reach double figures.
The Maroon & White shot a season-high and nearly record-setting 31-of-45 from the floor ... The 68.9 percent shooting effort was the third-highest single game effort in program history.
The Aggies held a 37-28 rebounding advantage, improving to 12-7 on the year when holding the edge this season.
Texas A&M shot 68 percent and led by as many as 19 during the first half before heading to the intermission with a 41-27 advantage.
A&M used the starting lineup combination of Admon Gilder, JC Hampton, Tonny Trocha-Morelos, Robert Williams and Tyler Davis for the fifth time this season (3-2).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Freshman Robert Williams fell just short of a fourth straight double-double, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with nine rebounds … The Vivian, La., native also blocked a career-high six Tiger shot attempts, giving him 69 swats on the season, the second most for a season in A&M history (108, David Harris [1989-90]) … The six-block game was the most by an Aggie since Chinemelu Elonu posted a similar six-block performance against Florida A&M in 2009.
The performance also extended Williams' nation-leading blocked shot streak to 26 games, as well as marking his 20^th multi-block game and his ninth game with four or more blocks.
Sophomore Admon Gilder played 36 minutes in the contest, breaking a streak of eight consecutive games in which he had played all 40 minutes … The Dallas native finished with a team-high 17 points in the contest.
Sophomore Kobie Eubanks set career highs in points (8), rebounds (6) and minutes played (25).
Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy improved to 113-82 in his sixth season at Texas A&M and 324-261 in 19 seasons as head coach.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M heads to Fayetteville where it will face Arkansas on Wednesday night ... The game is slated to be televised on SEC Network with tip off at 7:30 p.m. (CT).