Aggies Sweep Season Series with LSU

WTAW 1620 Aggie Basketball

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Texas A&M men’s basketball team rolled to a season sweep of the LSU Tigers with a wire-to-wire 74-62 victory on Saturday at the Maravich Assembly Center.

The victory marked the first season sweep of the Tigers since 2016-17 and the first win in Baton Rouge since Feb. 4, 2017. The Aggies’ triumph improved their season record to 18-7 overall and 10-2 in SEC play. It is the Aggies’ fastest SEC start after 12 games in program history (previous best was 8-4 by the 2014-15 and 2015-16 teams).

Over the past 20 games against SEC opponents (including the 2022 SEC tournament), the Aggies are 17-3, which is the best record in that span of any team in the conference.

The Aggies essentially put the game out of reach with dominant first half as they outscored the Tigers, 41-17. It was ninth time the Aggies have limited their opponent to 30 or fewer points in SEC play and the third time SEC foes have failed to reach 20 first-half points against the stifling Aggie defense. While the Aggies were hitting 52.2% of their first-half field goal attempts, the Tiger were limited to just six field goals on 23 tries (26.1%).

The Tigers didn’t quit, however, as they outscored the Aggies, 45-33, in second half, but they never got closer than eight points.

Sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV hit big shot after big shot, finishing the night with a game-high 23 points, a game-high four assists and matching his career high with five 3-pointers. Also chipping in double digits were the Baton Rouge duo of Dexter Dennis and Tyrece Radford, who scored 13 and 12 points, respectively.  Junior forward Andersson Garcia came off the bench to grab a game-high eight rebounds, while Radford pulled down six boards.

The Aggies connected on a season-high 50.0% on their 3-point tries, connecting on 8-of-16 from the arc with Taylor and Dennis accounting for all eight treys. Texas A&M committed just seven turnovers, which was a season-low and continued a trend of the team valuing the basketball. The efficient Aggies hit 48.0% from the field and 81.0% from the free throw line.

Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Buzz Williams
On the end of the first half…
“I think their [LSU] sixth basket was at the buzzer on three over there away from us, but there was a long time that they were at one basket. Then they were at two baskets. Then I think at the fourth media timeout, they were at four baskets and there was a period of time that the two free throws were their points along with one basket. We were locked into what we were doing. We knew what they were doing and even as they began to make adjustments to their plan, our guys were sensing it. We needed to lock in and do this.”

Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 74, LSU 62
Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, La.)

RECORDS & SERIES NOTES

  • Texas A&M defeated the LSU Tigers, 74-62, Saturday night at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, La.
  • The Aggies improve to 18-7 overall, 10-2 in SEC action and 4-2 in conference road games.
  • Texas A&M’s 10-2 SEC record marks the program’s best conference start after 12 games since joining the league in 2012-13.
  • With tonight’s victory, the Aggies secured the season sweep over the Tigers after previously beating them at home on Jan. 7. It marks the first season sweep of LSU since 2016-17 and the first win in Baton Rouge since Feb. 4, 2017. The Maroon & White improve to 17-21 against the Tigers in the all-time series.
  • A&M picks up its third series sweep of the season after taking the series against Florida and Auburn.
  • The Aggies hold a 17-3 record in the last 20 games against SEC opponents.

TEAM NOTES

  • Texas A&M has allowed 30 or fewer first half points in nine of 12 SEC games.
  • The Maroon & White limited LSU to just 17 points in the first half, marking the second fewest points the Aggies have allowed this season.
  • Three players finished in double figures for the ninth time this season.
  • The Aggie bench scored 18 points with Andersson Garcia and Solomon Washington combining for 12 points.
  • Wade Taylor IV drained five 3-pointers, which he previously did earlier in the season against Wofford on Dec. 20, 2022. Five 3-pointers are the most in a game this season by an Aggie.
  • Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Henry Coleman IIIDexter DennisJulius MarbleTyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV for the 16th time this season (13-3).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Henry Coleman III

  • Scored eight points and collected four rebounds.

Dexter Dennis

  • Finished with 13 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
  • Surpassed 1,200 career points.
  • Drained three 3-pointers, matching his SEC career high in triples which he previously did against Missouri on Jan. 11.
  • Tallied double figures for the 11th time this season and the 61st of his career.

Andersson Garcia

  • Led the team in rebounds with eight, matching his season high.
  • Has hauled in six or more rebounds in five of the six last games.
  • Led the team in rebounds for the fifth time this season and the 11th of his career.
  • Scored six points and had an assist.

Tyrece Radford

  • Recorded 12 points and six rebounds, marking the 17th time this season he’s scored 10 or more points.

Wade Taylor IV

  • Led all players with 23 points after finishing 6-of-11 from the field, 5-of-8 from behind the arc and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
  • His five 3-pointers made matches his career-high.
  • Recorded his second consecutive game with 20 or more points, registering 20 or more points for the seventh time this season and eighth of his career.
  • Marks the 12th time this season he’s made three or more triples.
  • Tallied double figures for the 19th time this season and 34th of his career.
  • Dished out a team-high four assists to lead the team in assists for the 18th time this season.

Solomon Washington

  • Slammed down two dunks and went 2-of-2 from the charity stripe to finish with six points.
  • Collected two rebounds and had a steal and a block.

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