Texas A&M
15-5,4-3SEC
LSU
16-4,4-4SEC
Texas A&M Falls at No. 19 LSU
Jan 26, 2022 | Men's Basketball
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -- Brandon Murray capped a 21-point performance with a pair of clutch free throws in the final minute, and No. 19 LSU outscored Texas A&M 13-2 in the last 3:34 to beat the Aggies 70-64 on Wednesday night and snap a three-game skid.
The Aggies looked poise to seize control when Quenton Jackson's layup gave them a 62-57 lead with 3:45 left.
But LSU (16-4, 4-4 Southeastern Conference) battled back and tied it at 64 when Mwani Wilkinson hit a 3 from the left corner on his first shot of the game with 1:18 to go.
Aggie guard Marcus Williams then missed a jumper, and Jackson and Andre Gordon each missed put-back chances in the paint before Murray grabbed the rebound for LSU with 37 seconds left.
After Eric Gaines gave LSU the lead with two free throws, he blocked Williams at the rim. The long rebound went straight to Tyrece Radford, but he missed a 3 for the lead and Murray all but sealed the game with his free throws. Gaines added two more free throws for the final margin and finished with 16 points.
Jackson scored 20 points for Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3), which lost its third straight. Gordon scored 18 points and Radford, a Baton Rouge native, added 14 points.
Tari Eason had 14 points and nine rebounds for LSU in his first start of the season.
Neither team led by more than six points in a game that included 11 lead changes and 10 ties.
Gordon got off to a blazing start for the Aggies, hitting five of his first seven shots, including three from deep, for 13 points. His soaring put-back dunk gave A&M a brief 27-25 lead.
Murray scored 10 of his points in the opening 20 minutes, hitting a pair of early 3s to help Tigers close when the Aggies looked poised to go on an early run.
LSU matched its largest first-half advantage when Gaines' free throw made it 34-30 entering the final minute.
Texas A&M Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
LSU 70, Texas A&M 64
Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, La.)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M fell to No. 19 LSU, 70-64, Wednesday night to move to 15-5 (4-3 SEC) on the season.
- LSU leads the all-time series record, 27-18.
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M's defense forced 18 turnovers, and converted those in to 19 points. The Maroon & White have forced 15-or-more turnovers in six of the seven games in SEC action.
- A&M hit nine 3-pointers, the second-most in conference play this season. Texas A&M has hit at least nine 3-pointers in eight games this year.
- The Aggies used the starting lineup of Marcus Williams, Ethan Henderson, Henry Coleman III, Andre Gordon and Tyrece Radford for the eighth time this season (5-3).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Quenton Jackson led the Aggies in scoring for the eighth time this season with 20 points. It was the Los Angeles native's fourth-career game with 20-or-more points. Jackson has scored in double figures in back-to-back games and 13 games this season.
- Andre Gordon poured in a season-high 18 on 7-of-11 shooting and buried four 3-pointers.
- Tyrece Radford, who was playing in his hometown of Baton Rouge, added 14 points to go along with four rebounds.
- Henry Coleman III led the team with seven rebounds and swatted two shots. Coleman has upped his game in conference play, and has led the team in rebounding in five SEC games.
UP NEXT
The Aggies return to Reed Arena to take on South Carolina on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The game can be seen on SEC Network.
