By Evan Roberts, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Tari Eason scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead LSU to a 76-68 victory over Texas A&M on Tuesday night.
LSU (17-7, 5-6 Southeastern Conference) ended a three-game skid while Texas A&M (15-9, 4-7) pushed its losing streak to seven.
Eason shot 7 of 12 from the floor and was one point shy of a career best. He has scored in double figures in eight straight games and collected a sixth double-double on the season.
Brandon Murray added 14 points for the Tigers. Xavier Pinson had 11 points and Darius Days 10.
Tyrece Radford scored 15 points to lead four in double figures for Texas A&M, which shot 33% (21 of 64) from the field and missed 22 of 30 from long range. Henry Coleman III had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
LSU closed the first half on a 25-3 run for a 36-16 halftime advantage. Days made two 3-pointers and scored all 10 of his points during the stretch. The Tigers finished the first half shooting 13 of 24 (54%) from the field and made 7 of 10 from distance.
Radford and Wade Taylor IV each made a 3 to spark a 10-0 run that cut the Texas A&M deficit to 48-38, but they trailed by double digits nearly the rest of the way.
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
LSU 76, Texas A&M 68
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M fell to LSU, 76-68, Tuesday night inside Reed Arena.
- The Aggies move to 15-9 (4-7 SEC) on the season.
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M led the Tigers in steals, 14-10. The 14 steals was the second-most by A&M this season. In the past three games, the Aggies have led their opponents in steals, 36-27.
- The Aggies won the turnover battle, 22-15, and outscored the Tigers, 22-16, in points off turnovers.
- A&M hauled in 22 offensive rebounds, which ranks second in a single game this season by the Maroon & White.
- Eight Aggies saw at least 10 minutes of action, led by Henry Coleman III and Quenton Jackson’s 32 and 28 minutes, respectively.
- The Aggies used the starting lineup of Marcus Williams, Andre Gordon, Ethan Henderson, Tyrece Radford and Henry Coleman III for the tenth time this season (5-5).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Coleman registered his second-career double-double and his fourth consecutive game in double figures, scoring 12 points and hauling in 12 rebounds.
- Tyrece Radford scored 15 on 5-of-7 shooting with a career-high four 3-pointers. In the last five games, Boots is averaging 11.4 points while shooting at a 58% (23-39) clip.
- Wade Taylor IV added 12 points off the bench, marking his ninth game in double figures this season.
- Quenton Jackson recorded his sixth-straight game in double figures as he scored 11 points and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M faces off against No. 1 Auburn inside Auburn Arena on Saturday at 11 a.m.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Buzz Williams
Opening Statement…
“It was the difference in two halves in whatever statistical category you would look at. We were as bad as you could be in the first half, and arguably as good as you can be in the second half. If you only looked at not the total box score but if you looked at first half and second half, I think that explains the story of the game. Our energy, togetherness, fight and execution were very poor by everybody except (Manny Obaseki) in the first half. And you could argue that it was diametrically opposed to that in the second half.”
On what the team will work on…
“I think our guys understand what we need to work on. I think they understand where we can be good and where we have to hedge our bets in being poor. We offensive rebounded 47 percent of the balls we missed tonight. I think that is a career high this year for the team. Maybe some of the things we need to work on is the consistency and energy required to do those things because I think that was the difference tonight.”
Sophomore Forward Henry Coleman III
On the difference in play from the first to second half…
“We knew as a team, as a whole, that was not Texas A&M basketball in the first half. That is not something that we practice every day. That is not our habits. So, I think it kind of spoke to each other and spoke to ourselves that this is not us. I think the fire inside of all of us came out to play our guts out in the second half.”
On what the team will do moving forward…
“I think we will regroup, and I think it is the same motto we have had the whole year. We need to focus on us. It hasn’t been much about the opponent, but how can Texas A&M be better each and every game. I think that will be the same motto and I don’t think anything changes. I think it is what can we do better, what can we do to focus on us.”