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A&M men's hoops improves to 2-0 in SEC play with 69-56 win over LSU

The victory snapped a 10-game winning streak by the Tigers in the series as the Aggies improved to 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play and 10-5 overall.
Credit: KAGS-TV

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Powered by game-high 17-point efforts from Dexter Dennis and Julius Marble, the Texas A&M men’s basketball team won its fourth straight game with a 69-56 victory over the LSU Tigers in front of a season-best 9,319 on Saturday at Reed Arena.

The victory snapped a 10-game winning streak by the Tigers in the series as the Aggies improved to 2-0 in Southeastern Conference play and 10-5 overall, while the Tigers fell to 12-3 and 1-2 in SEC action.

Dennis, from Baker, Louisiana, was aggressive from the start on his way to his season high in points, and he reeled in six rebounds and matched his career high with three steals. Marble, a junior transfer from Michigan State, matched his season high for the second straight game and just missed his first career double-double with nine boards.

The Aggies led for nearly 38 minutes of the 40-minute contest, taking the lead for good at the 16:32 mark of the first half. The Aggies won both halves, earning a 34-23 advantage at half time and then outscoring the Tigers 35-33 in the second half for the 13-point winning margin.

Texas A&M limited the Tigers to 35% from the field as they missed 32-of-49 shots, while the Aggies connected on a healthy 48% on 26-of-54 shooting, which included 17-of-19 layups and three dunks. The Aggies controlled the glass, out-rebounding the Tigers, 38-27, and enjoying an 18-5 advantage in second-chance points.

Other Aggies chipping in double-digit points were Baton Rouge native Tyrece Radford with 14 points and Wade Taylor IV with 13. Taylor IV also dished out a game-high six assists and had a pair of steals.

Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Quotes/Notes

Texas A&M 69, LSU 56

Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)

Dexter Dennis

Coming off of a slump, what are some points to explain your success tonight…

“A lot of the same shots I had been taking were falling tonight and a lot of the credit goes to the coaches and my teammates for getting my confidence up and getting me out of my head."

Julius Marble

How have y’all been able to finish at the rim… 42-10 in the paint

“ We have been practicing this and we have been using the pads against one another if we can make these shots during practice then surely we can make them in the game. It is good to see that come to life because it is definitely something that we work on. “

Defensively, when did the light come on?

“Over Christmas break, we took some time off and when we came back we had to regroup and a lot of what we talked about was defense and making sure that we were executing what we had been talking about on film.”

Head Coach Buzz Williams

“A lot of credit goes to the staff for understanding and preparing for the opponent and the time frame we are communicating that to our players during practice. I think that our preparation for each team has benefitted us tremendously in the way that we can allow the team to understand what they run and what we are going to do to stop that etc. We have played hard and together and, to some degree, with great IQ.”

RECORDS & SERIES NOTES

·         Texas A&M defeated the LSU Tigers, 69-56, Saturday evening at Reed Arena in its SEC home opener.

·         The Aggies improve to 10-5 overall, 2-0 in SEC action and 7-1 at home.

·         The victory gave the Aggies their first four-game win streak.

·         The Maroon & White snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Tigers that dated back to an 85-73 win on Feb. 4, 2017. With the win, the Aggies move the all-time series to 74-85.

·         Head coach Buzz Williams remains undefeated in SEC home openers improving to 4-0.

TEAM NOTES

Three different players slammed down a dunk.

Four players finished in double figures for the first time since Dec. 17, 2022 at Memphis.

The Aggies shot 48% from the field (26-of-54).

Texas A&M outrebounded LSU with a 38-27 rebound margin.

The Maroon & White finished 17-of-19 in layups.

The 12th Man showed out with a season high attendance of 9,319. This was the second largest crowd the Aggies have played in front of since their game at Memphis (11,544).

The Aggies scored 42 points in the point, limiting LSU to just 10 points in the point.

The Maroon & White had fewer turnovers than the Tigers, scoring 17 points off turners.

Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Henry Coleman III, Dexter Dennis, Julius Marble, Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV for the sixth time this season (5-1).

The starting lineup combined for 68 points with Hayden Hefner scoring a point off the bench.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Henry Coleman III

Tallied six rebounds, collecting five of those in the first half.

Recorded seven points to surpass 600 career points and also swiped two steals.

Swatted the Aggies’ only block.

Dexter Dennis

Registered a season high 17 points, scoring 15 of his points in the first half.

Matched his career high in steals with three.

Led the team in points for second time this season, tied with Julius Marble who also had 17 points.

Finished 6-of-8 from the field, 2-of-4 behind the arc and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.

Logged double-digit points for the fourth time this season.

Collected six rebounds and dished out an assist.

Andre Gordon

Played in his 100th career game.

Matched his season high in steals with three.

Julius Marble

Finished with 17 points for the second straight game against an SEC opponent, matching his season high.

Recorded five points at the half and surged out in the second half with 12 points.

Marked the seventh time this season to tally double-digit points.

Hauled in a season-high nine rebounds, a rebound shy of his career high of 10.

Led all players with his nine rebounds to lead the team for the sixth time this season.

Logged 30 minutes of action, tying his season and career high.

Led the team in points for the second time this season and of his career, after being tied with Dexter Dennis with 17 points.

Tyrece Radford

Recorded double figures for the fourth consecutive game after finishing with 14 points.

Marked the ninth time to log double-digit points this season.

Collected five rebounds and dished out an assist.

Wade Taylor IV

Registered 13 points, scoring nine points in the first half.

Recorded double figures for the 12th time this season.

Logged a career high 35 minutes of action.

Dished out a team-high six assists to lead the team for the ninth time this season.

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