Texas A&M
7-7,2-6SEC
LSU
11-4,6-3SEC
Aggies Battle in 78-66 Loss Against LSU
Jan 26, 2021 | Men's Basketball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Cameron Thomas scored 28 points and LSU ended the game on a 18-0 run to beat Texas A&M 78-60 on Tuesday night.
Texas A&M led 66-60 with 8:50 remaining and then missed its last 15 field goals plus a free throw.
The Tigers (11-4, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) jumped out to a 17-point lead with about six minutes left in the first half and led 41-36 at the break. Quenton Jackson's 3-pointer gave the Aggies their first lead of the game, 58-57 with 13:08 remaining.
Thomas was 8 of 21 from the field, made three 3-pointers and all nine of his free-throw attempts. Thomas scored a season-best 32 points in a 77-54 victory over the Aggies in the conference opener on Dec. 29.
Ja'Vonte Smart scored 19 points and had a season-high nine assists for the Tigers, who ended a two-game stretch of double-digits losses, each against Alabama and Kentucky. Trendon Watford added 13 points and Darius Days had 11.
Jay Jay Chandler matched a career high with 21 points to lead Texas A&M (7-7, 2-6). Savion Flagg added 17 points.
Texas A&M Men's Basketball Postgame Notes & Quotes
LSU 78, Texas A&M 66
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M fell to LSU, 78-66, Tuesday night inside Reed Arena.
- The Tigers lead the all-time series, 26-18.
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M had eight turnovers, the fewest recorded this season.
- The Aggies scored 66 points, the second highest total in SEC play this season.
- Savion Flagg (14) and Jay Jay Chandler (13) reached double digits in scoring in the first half, marking the first time in SEC play where multiple Aggies have had 10-or-more points in a half.
- A&M scored 36 points in the opening stanza, the most in a half in SEC play this season.
- The Maroon & White matched their season high of 12 3-pointers made.
- The Aggies grabbed 37 rebounds, the most in SEC play this season.
- Texas A&M's bench scored 51 points, the highest bench scoring performance this season.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Andre Gordon, Quenton Jackson, Kevin Marfo, Emanuel Miller and Jaxson Robinson (1-2) for the third time this season.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Senior Jay Jay Chandler led the Aggies and matched his career high of 21 points, which included a career-best five 3-pointers.
- Sophomore Jonathan Aku grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
- Senior Savion Flagg scored 17 points, his second highest total this season. Flagg also passed a team-high four assists.
- Freshman LaDamien Bradford recorded his first career field goal off a converted and-one early in the second half.
- Buzz Williams is 23-21 in his career at Texas A&M and 276-176 in his 14 seasons as a head coach.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M steps out of conference play as it partakes in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday. The Aggies travel to Kansas State for an 11 a.m. matchup on ESPNU.
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Buzz Williams
On the team's improvement in offensive production…
"I thought we played incredibly hard. It was the most connected that we've played this season, not just in conference play. I thought you could hear it in the arena. I thought you could see it. I thought you could feel it. I'm so encouraged. Whatever that was in the last eight minutes, 'man, can we make a basket?' I understand. But the effort and tenacity with which we tried is so encouraging. I think that the effort and spirit which we were competing with, I honestly believe that's why we had a sustainable period of offense."
On his coaching style…
"I think that my only talent as a person is my ability to build trustful relationships with people. I don't know that I would hire myself to be a coach, but I think that I'm good at building relationships that are built on trust. Once that's established, I start trying to push that person to be their best. I've told Sav (Savion Flagg) the truth since the day I met him. When he's good, I tell him he's good. When he's bad, I say he's bad. Same is true for Jay (Jay Jay Chandler). Same is true for every player both at Texas A&M and otherwise. That's the only thing I know to do. I'm not saying that it's a gift in an arrogant way, I just think it's the best thing that I bring to a team. I tell them the truth and push them to be better."
On sustaining momentum from game to game…
"On Thursday when we go back to practice, are we going to start from this point relative to our spirit, relative to the lessons we've learned? Or are we going to exhale physically, mentally and emotionally to the point where we have to start back over. The sign of maturity is taking a baby step on the path to get better and not regressing. That's going to end up being the whole key. Our guys knew what was happening during the whole game. You could hear it. You could feel it, and you could see it. When we get back on Thursday, can we start back where we finished tonight? That's going to be the most important thing."
Senior guard Savion Flagg
On his impressions from tonight's game…
"I feel like, from the jump, they got the first punch on us. But, I feel like for the next 36 minutes we came out and kept throwing punches until we fought our way back into the game. Everyone's energy and spirit were in the right spot, and guys just kept feeding off of that. LSU started getting going offensively at the end, and we missed some shots. Those guys got things going on the offensive end had a couple offensive rebounds that they were able to execute off of."
On the atmosphere in Reed Arena…
"I felt like the 12th Man was definitely there tonight. Hearing them on free throws, or when fouls were called, it was so great to hear our fans all game long. Of course, I feel like our bench is the best in the country at creating energy through this COVID time. It's really special to be able to hear your team the whole game. That being said, we could definitely hear the fans, 12th Man and Reed Rowdies roaring."
Senior guard Jay Jay Chandler
On his shooting performance…
"The coaches have been telling everybody all week to just shoot and shoot it with confidence. I would say, after my first shot went in off the glass, I knew that I just had to keep shooting. I knew eventually that they were going to fall. I hit four threes in a row, and the coaches kept calling on me. So, I kept shooting it. I can't stop shooting after a few misses. My mindset is just to shoot the ball with confidence every time and take the kind of shots that you work on in practice."
On his feelings after the game…
"This one stings a little bit more, especially for us seniors, because this was probably our last time playing them. We wish that we went out with a win. Losses like this mean that we have to go into the film room and fix our mistakes. We were in the game almost the entire time, and we just lost it down the stretch on little mistakes on both ends of the court. So, we have to watch film, correct those mistakes and try to get the next one."
LSU QUOTES
Head Coach Will Wade
Opening statement…
"I am proud of our guys and thought it was a great response. We got off to a great start to allow for that tremendous response. We had to find a way to win and we did. To be down six and then close the game. We talk about six-minute games all the time and the need to take care of the ball, solid defense and making our free-throws. I was proud of our leadership. It's not easy to come back from what we went through the last couple games. Getting our clock cleaned and were ready to go today. I felt that energy all day today and yesterday in practice. Credit to our players, they did an awesome job."
On the defensive strategy…
"You can't take away everything on defense. You can't pitch a shutout. They came in shooting 26 percent and hit some off the bounce. Even hitting 6-of-6 from the end of the first half into the second. The problem wasn't the 3-pointers, it was turning the ball over four times to give them easy shots. We missed that front in of the one-on-one. That is what our defensive philosophy is. They took over half their shots from the three, which was probably not what they were wanting to do. That stuff just tends to even out."
On what he said in the last timeout …
"I told them we are built for this and this is what we do. This is what life on the road in the SEC is. We needed to stick to our six-minute game. Our confidence comes from our six-minute game. We are good in those situations. We needed to play with great energy to get this done. I saw great effort and execution and that will get it done. I thought our guys did that. We had some warriors, most of those guys played some major minutes. Shareef (O'Neal) came up big for us at the end along with Eric Gains on the defensive end. I was pleased with the overall flow from our team tonight."
On the importance of this win…
"This is huge. Anytime you get a win on the road in the SEC, it's a big win. With the stretch and losing to Alabama and Kentucky this was one we needed to play well in and find a way to win. They are all big, especially in the SEC. We prepared and responded the right way and was a good night for us."
Junior guard Javonte Smart
On the importance of the last few minutes…
"We want to lock in as a whole team. We know that most people say our defense is our weakest link, but we found us. We were able to do a big thing and find the help from our coaching staff. Locking in on defense first allows for the offense to catch up."
On the last timeout game plan…
"They started hitting some big shots. Savion Flagg and Jay Jay Chandler were hitting shots early before everyone else was able start to hit. We wanted them to contest every shot and drive to shoot. We were wanting to see if they could score over us in the lane."
Sophomore forward Trendon Watford
On the offensive run…
"We knew we were going to make a run and we did. We wanted to bounce back from it, and we did a good job of doing that. We were able to make a run at the end of the second half closing in on the score. We kept our heads up and moved on to our next play. Coach said we would make our run and that is what we did."
On the need for this win…
"We were desperate to win this game. We have already dropped two in a row and were not looking to move it to three in a row. I think our biggest thing was to come out tonight and respond. We did a good job of sticking to that. The play that (Darius Day) made was a big play. Having him dive on the ball to give us the possession was big and turned the game. He is the one to make those winning plays and that is what makes him, him."
On the defense performance tonight…
"The plan was to pressure them. They have had a few tough threes off the dribble and we were wanting to make them drive for the finish. We needed them finishing over Darius (Day), Shareef (O'Neal) and myself at the rim. We made them get off the line and drive it in. We did a good job executing that after talking it out in our timeout. We were looking to make it tough for them and it worked out."
Freshman guard Cameron Thomas
On his offensive performance…
"I felt good. I was able to get into a better rhythm early on. I was able to shoot some two's, midranges and floaters. I got myself into my rhythm.
On the second quarter shots…
"We were down, and we knew we needed some big shots. I come in clutch to make big shots for my team. It happened to be two threes', which I'll take."
On playing off the defense…
"I played off of what the defense gave me. They gave me a lot of twos at the beginning and one wide-open three. I was able to take that and make it. Texas A&M only allowed for me to get a few lay ups and mid-range shots. I just took what they gave me tonight."
