COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Texas A&M’s Jalen Jones scored 20 points to lead the Aggies to a 65-50 victory over the Mercer Bears in a nonconference men’s basketball Game Tuesday night.
Jones, a 6-foot-7 junior transfer from SMU, added eight rebounds. The Aggies (8-3) hadn’t played since a 71-64 loss to Kansas State on Dec. 20 in Kansas City, got 13 points from sophomore forward Davonte Fitzgerald and 11 from senior forward Kourtney Roberson. Alex Caruso added eight assists as A&M shot 46 percent from the field (23 of 50).
Mercer (6-8) lost its third straight road game to a Southeastern Conference team. The Bears got 16 points from Ike Nwamu and 12 from Jordan Strawberry.
A&M took a seven-point lead into halftime and never trailed in the second half.
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening Statement…
“Obviously, it was a good win against a team that causes a lot of problems for a lot of people. I was proud of our guys handling the first half with some poise. They’ve played three games, I think, in the last seven days. We haven’t played, and I thought it showed in the first 10 minutes of the game.”
On getting in the flow…
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. This team should’ve beat Georgia. They had a tough call against them the other day. Our guys got to watch some of that at the end. We knew what they did last year. They’ve got a lot of experience, even though they’ve got a lot of new guys. We said, ‘Hey guys, this is going to be a tough game.’ If we’re behind or ahead we have to keep a steady keel, and not get too up or too down. I thought our guys demonstrated good poise.”
On Davonte’s play today…
“They played some zone and Davonte came in. He’s always ready. He’s a good kid and is always about the team first. He’s a good catch and shoot guy who can score the ball, but I was really happy for him. Our guys were excited that he came in ready to play.”
On turning the first half around…
“We played good defense the whole game. They hit some tough shots at the end of the shot clock. I thought we had a little more depth. We were able to get the ball inside. Jalen made some good plays. We had good balance out there. It wasn’t one guy; we had some guys capable of scoring at other positions. The ability to get the ball inside was huge for us.”
TEXAS A&M JUNIOR JALEN JONES
On recovering after a shaky start…
“We have confidence in our comeback skills. The Puerto Rico tournament really helped us with our confidence in being able to have a good second half. We just believe in our team; we know that when you’re down you can’t stay down, you have to keep fighting. Give Mercer credit because they’re a great team. They’ve played some great SEC teams. We were able to fight back and get the win.”
On the long wait before tonight’s game after a loss at Kansas State…
“The K-State loss was tough for us. We didn’t play the game that we knew we were capable of playing. But we knew we were going to bounce back today, we had some great practices and really went hard. We really competed in practice and made each other better and it showed tonight.”
TEXAS A&M SOPHOMORE DAVONTE FIZGERALD
On being an energy player off the bench…
“I just try to come out and play hard and help the team out in any possible way I can. Tonight I just had a good flow and my teammates helped me out there too. I started out slow but they were able to find me in open space so I could pick up my game, so I give them credit for that.”
On the upcoming Hartford game…
“It’s very important to build up a rhythm going into our first SEC game which is on the road. Road games are always a little bit tougher. I think we need to use that game to build some momentum and confidence, and that’s why we’re taking Hartford very seriously.”
MERCER HEAD COACH BOB HOFFMAN
Opening Statement…
“I thought we had a great beginning, but, obviously, it didn’t end the way we began. Texas A&M’s ability to finish plays and help on defense was hard to overcome. They were so good at recovering and were quicker than a lot of teams that we’ve played in the past. That’s a credit to their coaching staff. But we didn’t do what we wanted to tonight; our guys have battled all year and they were no different tonight. I love this team’s fight and that’s why I love coaching this group of guys every day.”
On the Aggies…
“Their intensity after they got back in the game allowed them to cause separation, and when you get separation like they did, the feel-good 3’s are a lot easier to make. When the game was tight those 3’s weren’t coming as easy, and if we could have maintained contact a little longer, who knows what would have happened towards the end of the game. They’re a talented team. Coach Kennedy is a special man and I know a lot of the guys on staff and I hope they have a great season.”
TEAM RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
● Texas A&M improved to 8-3 on the season with a 65-50 win over Mercer on Tuesday night at Reed Arena … The Bears, meanwhile, saw their ledger fall to 6-8 on the year.
● The win was the 200th all-time for the Aggies inside Reed Arena, which opened in the fall of 1998 (200-72).
● The all-time series between the schools now stands at 2-0 in the favor of the Aggies.
TEAM NOTES
● The Aggies got off to a sluggish start, hitting just two of their first 11 shot attempts, allowing the Bears to build a 11-point advantage in the first half (19-8 at the 8:09 mark).
● After falling behind by 11, A&M countered with a run of its own by outscoring Mercer 22-4 during the period’s final 6:58, including a 17-0 run to end the half which gave the Aggies a 30-23 advantage at the break.
● Following the intermission, the Bears claimed nine of the second half’s first 14 points to cut the A&M advantage down to just three at the 15:46 mark (35-32) … the Aggies, however, outscored Mercer 30-14 during the next 13:30 to achieve their biggest lead of the night at 65-46 with 1:53 to play.
● A&M owned a 36-25 edge in rebounding, leading to a 13-4 advantage in second-chance points … the Aggies also outpaced the Bears in points in the paint (32-14) and points off turnovers (14-6).
● The Aggies were guilty of just eight turnovers in the contest, marking the fourth time in 11 games this season they have been charged with eight or less giveaways.
● Texas A&M used the starting line-up combination of Alex Caruso, Jordan Green, Danuel House, Jalen Jones and Kourtney Roberson for the sixth time this season (4-2).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
● Junior Jalen Jones led all scorers with 20 points in the contest, going 7-of-13 from the field, while also pulling down a game-high eight rebounds … it marked the fourth time this season that the Dallas native has finished with at least 13 points and eight boards in a contest and the second time he has reached the 20-point plateau.
● SEC assist-per-game leader Alex Caruso dished out a game-best eight helpers on the night to give him 67 for the year and 349 during his three-year Aggie career … the performance moved him past Kyle Kessel (344 assists from 1994-96) and Freddie Ricks (346 assists from 1987-91) into 10th place all-time at Texas A&M.
● Sophomore Davonte Fitzgerald enjoyed his best scoring night of the season, finishing with 13 points, including 10 after halftime.
● Senior Kourtney Roberson and junior Danuel House each contributed 11 points, marking the fourth game this season the Aggies have featured at least four players in double-digit scoring.
● A&M head coach Billy Kennedy is now 58-52 in his fourth season at Texas A&M and 269-231 in 17 years as a head coach.
UP NEXT
● The Aggies will hit the hardwood for the first time in 2015 on Saturday, Jan. 3, when they welcome Hartford to Reed Arena for a 4 p.m. contest … The match-up with the Hawks will be A&M’s final tune-up before SEC play begins on Jan. 6.