LSU defeats Texas A&M 68-53, starts SEC play 1-0
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The LSU Tigers picked a perfect time to break a 13-game road court losing streak by outscoring the Texas A&M Aggies, 38-21, in the final 20 minutes to win easily 68-53 Saturday night at Reed Arena.
LSU has now won three straight games and is 9-5 and 1-0 in the Southeastern Conference while A&M drops to 9-5 on the year and is 0-1 in the SEC.
The last time LSU outscored an opponent by at least 17 points in the second half on their home court was Feb. 26, 2005 at Auburn.
The 25.4 percent shooting by A&M is the second lowest field goal percentage by an LSU opponent on its home court in records that go back to 1965-66.
LSU’s last road win was in the 2022 season, ironically here at A&M.
The Tigers trailed by just two points after a first half in which they trailed for much of the first 20 minutes. But LSU never allowed A&M to get more than a five-point advantage in that opening half and was behind only on a foul that resulted in free throws in the final second of the half.
But in the second half the Tigers scored the first eight points of the second half, taking the lead at 34-32 and advancing to 38-32 in front. The opening 8-0 run came at the hands of a Jordan Wright free throw, a converted and-one from Jalen Cook and back-to-back layups from Wright and Jalen Reed.
The Aggies would tie the game at 42-42 with 14:48 to play but never got the lead away from LSU as an eventual 9-0 run put LSU up 55-44 at the 8:07 mark. LSU’s 9-0 run came courtesy of a Tyrell Ward three, Jordan Wright jumper, Hunter Dean layup and then Ward capped off the run with an emphatic two-handed dunk.
Texas A&M kept missing shots and LSU was hanging almost even or ahead in rebounds which allowed the Tigers to put the lead to double digits, 61-49, forcing Texas A&M to call their last timeout with 5:03 to play.
Jordan Wright led LSU with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Jalen Cook was the only other one in double figures with 13 points, three assists and two steals. Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&M with 23 points, while Tyrece Radford had 11.
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Wright finished in double figures for the 11th straight game. It was also his ninth career double-double.
LSU shot 40.3 percent (27-of-67) for the game with six made three-pointers. LSU didn’t shoot a lot of free throws, making 8-of-11.
A&M finished at 25.4 percent (15-of-59) from the field and was just 5-of-28 from the arc (17.9%). The Aggies were 18-of-26 at the free throw line.
LSU won the rebound battle, 46-40, and 14-13 on the offensive end. LSU had a 36-20 advantage in the paint and made a big dent in winning the game by going 18-3 over A&M in second chance points.
LSU’s biggest lead of the game came with 1:17 to play when the Tigers built a 68-53 advantage which was the final score.
The Tigers will open home SEC play on Tuesday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center against Vanderbilt at 8 p.m. Tickets for the game are available at LSUTix.net.
