Williams Posts Double-Double in 77-65 Loss at LSU

Tuesday, January 23

Baton Rouge, La.

8 p.m.

Texas A&M

13-7 (2-6)

LSU

12-7 (3-4)

Texas A&M

LSU

Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics

Jan 23, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box (PDF)

By: Associated Press/Texas A&M Media Relations

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Duop Reath scored 21, Tremont Waters added 15 points and LSU snapped a three-game skid with a 77-65 victory over Texas A&M on Tuesday night.

One game after scoring 31 in a loss at Vanderbilt, Reath made nine of 14 shots and also grabbed eight rebounds. He scored the game's first four points and helped LSU (12-7, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) build an early double-digit lead in a wire-to-wire victory.

Waters also had nine assists and eight steals for LSU, and his highlights included two breakaway layups he created with steals and a 3 with the shot clock winding down from about 25 feet with a little more than two minutes remaining. Aaron Epps added 12 points for the Tigers, who won an SEC game at home for the first time in four tries.

Robert Williams, a Louisiana native and top NBA prospect, had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Aggies (13-7, 2-6), who came in having won two straight, but now have lost six of eight.

The 6-foot-10 Williams soared above the rim for dunks set up either by his own offensive rebounds or by passes as he cut to the hoop. He did not have enough help, though, and LSU was able to maintain a double-digit lead for much of the game.

The Tigers led by as many as 19 when Reath dunked as he was fouled for a 3-point play that made it 50-31 with about 15 minutes to go. LSU still led by 15 with five minutes left. Williams tried to help the Aggies summon a late surge, but they never got closer than 10.

Tyler Davis finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Texas A&M, and Jay Jay Chandler added 10 points.

The Tigers opened the game on a 15-4 run that included Reath's 3-pointer and dunk. LSU led by as many as 17 in the first half when Waters' free throws made it 41-24.

Williams' jumper trimmed it to 41-26 at halftime.

Postgame Notes

RECORDS / SERIES NOTES

Texas A&M fell to 13-7 on the season with a 2-6 mark in SEC play following a 77-65 loss to LSU at the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge on Tuesday night.
The LSU win gave the Tigers a regular season sweep of the Aggies and left the all-time series at 20-18 in favor of LSU.

TEAM NOTES

Texas A&M coughed up a season-high 20 turnovers against LSU, leading to 28 Tiger points … LSU, meanwhile, was guilty of just seven turnovers to match the season-low for an A&M opponent (Florida, 1/2/18 … additionally, Texas A&M dished out a season-low eight assists.
A&M owned a significant 50-30 advantage in the rebounding battle, leading to a 31-10 edge for the Aggies in second-chance points.
The Aggies faced a 41-26 halftime deficit before outscoring the Tigers 39-36 during the second half.
A&M used the starting lineup combination of Duane Wilson, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg, Robert Williams and Tyler Davis for the seventh time this season (5-2).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Sophomore Robert Williams matched a career-high with 10 made field goals, finishing with a team-high 21 points and 15 rebounds to notch his fourth double-double of the season (15^th career) ... Williams led the Aggies in scoring for the second time this season and the fifth time in his career, while corralling the most rebounds for the Aggies for the eighth time this year and 24^th time in the Maroon & White.
Junior Tyler Davis contributed his third straight double-double and eighth overall this season (14^th career) … the reigning Co-SEC Player of the Week finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds to go along with a block, steal and assist in 27 minutes.
Freshman Jay Jay Chandler reached double figure scoring for the fourth time on the season ... Chandler finished 3-for-6 from the floor, including a pair of 3-point field goals.
Junior DJ Hogg set a career-high with five blocks against the Tigers, the five swats were the second most by an Aggie this season.
Aggie head coach Billy Kennedy fell to 128-92 during his seven-year tenure at Texas A&M and 339-271 in 20 seasons as a head coach.

UP NEXT

The Aggies take a break from SEC play to take part in the Big 12-SEC Challenge which will see Texas A&M travel to Lawrence, Kan., to face No. 5 Kansas inside Allen Fieldhouse ... the game will be televised on ESPN and tip off at 3:30 p.m. (CT).

Postgame Quotes

TAMU HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY

Opening statement …
"Give LSU credit. I thought their guards really gave us problems pressuring the ball. Our team had 20 turnovers. That's just too many turnovers to give yourself a chance to win against a team like LSU especially here, in Baton Rouge."

On the playmaking ability of Tremont Waters…
"We had a hard time guarding him. Admon Gilder is coming off of meniscus surgery and he is struggling to move. He tried to do his best, but Tremont Waters was a little bit too much for him. I think offensively is where we really struggled the most. When you turn the ball over 20 times and your one and two (positions) have 12 of them it's hard to win games against good teams."

On being able to score only eight points in the paint in the first half…
"I think we had 12 turnovers (in the first half). We couldn't even get the ball to our big guys. I thought we turned the ball over too much. They contested our passes and picked us at half court sometimes and we just really struggled getting into our offense. It was sloppy. I've got to do a better job of preparing our team in practice for this and we've got to have guys be able to practice instead of just resting them while they're hurt or recovering from being hurt."