After a middling performance during the non-conference part of the 2022-23 schedule, there were questions on how well Texas A&M would handle SEC play. The answer after two games: quite well, thank you.
The Aggies (10-5, 2-0 SEC) used its trademark stifling defense, a 42-10 scoring advantage in the paint and season-high scoring performances from guard Dexter Dennis and forward Julius Marble to stomp LSU (12-6, 1-2 SEC) 69-56 Saturday evening at Reed Arena.
The Aggies started off strong, with Dennis (17 points) scoring 7 of A&M’s first 8 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Both teams would struggle to score as the game quickly became extremely physical, but Dennis helped the Aggies get on a roll with a tomahawk slam after a steal to make it the score 17-10 with 10:49 left in the first half.
Dennis said that he wasn’t expecting a big game as he warmed up.
“I really couldn’t get myself going (in warmups). I couldn’t really get that spark,” he said. “But after tipoff (it was there).”
Dennis’ hot start caught the attention of the Tigers, who came into the game more concerned about the Aggie guard’s defense.
“He hits those two 3s early … he really carried them offensively in the first half,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said.
A&M coach Buzz Williams said Dennis has been an asset even when he hasn’t made his shots, but tonight was impressive.
“(Dennis) does so many things without the ball, and when he makes shots, it’s ‘woah’,” Williams said.
Even though Dennis, who scored 15 of his 17 points before halftime, had scored just a total of 20 points in his last four games, he said nothing really changed tonight.
“It was pretty much the same shots; they just went in,” he said. “My teammates told me to just keep shooting.”
Two up and under layups by Dennis and a jumper by point guard Wade Taylor (14 points) helped the Aggies push their lead to 32-17 with 1:57 to go in the first half, but a 6-0 LSU run cut the lead back to single digits. But Taylor made a sharp pass to Marble (17 points) that led to a close-in layup that allowed the Aggies go into the locker room with a 34-23 lead.
The Aggie defense was stifling in the first half, holding LSU to 29% shooting and just 8 baskets total — 4 from 3-point range. A&M forced the Tigers into 7 turnovers, including a 10-second violation and a 5-second violation after LSU couldn’t get the ball inbounded from under the Aggie basket.
A&M also dominated in the paint in the first half, with 18 to LSU’s 2.
The domination in the paint continued after halftime as Marble went off. After a steal by Dennis on the LSU end and a quick pass, a spinning Marble scored A&M’s first basket of the second half. One possession later, guard Wade Taylor found Marble on the break for another lay-in, forcing McMahon to take a timeout with just 55 seconds gone in the second half.
“I thought A&M did a great job getting to the basket and making plays,” McMahon said. “When you’re struggling to rebound and struggling to score, you can’t give the ball away.”
Point guard Andre Gordon wasn’t a scoring threat Saturday, but he had assisted on three sparkling baskets that kept A&M’s lead in double-digits in the second half. After LSU cut the Aggie lead to 9, Gordon sprinted down the baseline to find Henry Coleman (4 points) for an easy slam, then fed Marble with a pair of baskets, the second of which pushed A&M’s lead back to 50-38 with 10:03 to go in the game.
“I don’t know if a team’s ever been outscored 42-10 in the paint and won a game. I’d be shocked,” McMahon said.
Williams said the Aggies have “prioritized” playing in a more physical style during practices in an effort to control the post.
“We've been very consistent and showing it to our team, even when sometimes that's a hard thing to show guys,” he said.
Marble said the effort in practice has paid off.
“We’ve been pretty much killing each other (with pad work), so if we can make those, we can make ones in the game,” Marble said.
When the Aggies needed some clutch baskets, though, they turned to guard Boots Radford. Radford scored 14 points, including a layup that hung on the rim as the shot clock ran out to put A&M 46-33, then stole a possession of a Hayden Hefner free throw miss and laid it to put the Aggies up 53-38. His 3 as the shot clock ran out to make the score 58-45 with 6:14 left sent the Reed Arena crowd into a frenzy.
LSU’s reliance on 3-point shooting proved to be a problem Saturday as the Aggies held the Tigers to 34.7% shooting for the game. LSU scored more baskets from beyond the arc (9) than they did from inside of it (8).
Williams said that, on both sides of the court, the Aggies have clearly improved since conference play began.
“Over the last six days, we’ve had great growth,” he said.
Marble put int more succinctly.
“It’s the SEC. It’s big time basketball,” he said.
Notes
A&M shot 48.1% for the game, but only 25% (4-16) from 3.
LSU was 9-22 on 3-pointers.
A&M out-rebounded LSU 38-27 and scored 17 points off of 15 LSU turnovers.
A&M had 1 point from its bench players — a free throw by Hefner.
Adam Miller led LSU with 16 points.
