COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M defeated Texas A&M-International, 83-45, Friday evening at Reed Arena in front of 4,065 fans. Jalen Jones paced the A&M offense with 14 points, while four other Aggies scored in double figures in A&M’s lone exhibition contest.
Joining Jones with more than 10 points were freshman Tyler Davis(12), sophomore Tonny Trocha-Morelos (12), freshman Admon Gilder (12) and freshman DJ Hogg (11). Davis, Gilder and Hogg comprise three of the four members of Texas A&M’s heralded signing class from a season ago. The four member signing class was rated the best signing class in A&M program history and ranked sixth in the country in ESPN.com’s final iteration of recruiting classes.
The Aggies started slow from the floor, missing their first four shots before going on an 18-2 run to take an 18-5 lead at the 12 minute mark in the first half. Gilder sparked the run making his first 3-point attempt in the Maroon and White. The Dallas native finished the night 4-of-6 from the floor including a pair of 3-pointers.
“Admon is always an unsung hero,” Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. “He gets it done. He plays with great pace. He’s one of our best defenders. I’ve really been impressed with him. He’s just a very good player that gets things done.”
Kennedy’s squad took a 41-19 lead to the locker room, holding the Dust Devils to 5-for-24 shooting in the first half. Texas A&M’s heralded freshman class put on a show in the first half, scoring 17 of the Aggies’ first half points. The fish were 6-of-11 from the floor, including 3-of-6 from long-distance in the opening 20 minutes.
Following the break, the Aggies defense continued to impress, forcing nine giveaways leading to 12 points off turnovers. The Maroon and White went 10-for-29 inside the arc in the second half, led by Trocha-Morelos’ nine points in the second stanza.
On the night, the Aggies continually maintained possession of the boards especially on the offensive end. A&M corralled 14 offensive rebounds leading to 21 second-chance points, while the Dust Devils were unable to tally a second-chance point. Additionally, A&M controlled play in the lane, outscoring A&M-International 36-14 in the paint.
“The first five minutes of both halves I was disappointed in our effort and our intensity level, but I thought we were able to get that going,” Kennedy added. “We accomplished getting our young guys on the floor and them getting something out of it.”
Texas A&M started a trio of familiar faces in seniors Alex Caruso, Jalen Jones and Danuel House, the group combined for 87 starts a season ago in Aggieland. Graduate transfer, Anthony Collins, donned the maroon and white for the first time after transferring from South Florida. Collins scored 821 points in a Bulls uniform in 101 games, including 98 starts. The lone non-senior starter for the Aggies was freshman Tyler Davis, a product of Plano West High School. Davis was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Texas a year ago by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
The Aggies open the 2015-16 season next Friday at Reed Arena as they take on USC Upstate at 8:30 p.m. (CT), the game is scheduled to be broadcast on SEC Network PLUS.
TEAM NOTES
? Texas A&M notched an 83-45 exhibition win over Texas A&M-International Friday night at Reed Arena during the Aggies’ final dress rehearsal prior to the start of the 2015-16 season.
? A team effort, Texas A&M featured five players who scored double-digit points and a total of eight players who logged 15 minutes or more on the court.
? Texas A&M dominated in most statistical categories, including a 21-0 advantage in second-chance points and a 46-16 edge in bench points.
? The Aggies owned a 41-19 lead at the intermission after shooting 48.1 percent during the game’s opening 20 minutes and holding the Dustdevils to just 20.8 percent from the floor.
? Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Anthony Collins, Alex Caruso, Danuel House, Jalen Jones and Tyler Davis.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
? Senior Jalen Jones fell just short of a double-double performance, contributing a game-high 14 points and nine rebounds … the Dallas native was 4-of-7 from the floor while doing 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
? Joining Jones in double-digit scoring was Tyler Davis (12), Admon Gilder (12), Tonny Trocha-Morelos (12) and D.J. Hogg (11).
? Davis added three blocks in 19 minutes of action.
? Senior transfer Anthony Collins dished out five assists with no turnovers while sharing top-steal honors (3) alongside Alex Caruso.
UP NEXT
? Texas A&M officially christens the 2015-16 campaign next Friday when the Aggies host USC Upstate inside Reed Arena at 8:30 p.m.
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening Statement…
“Obviously you could see that was sloppy. The first five minutes of both halves I was disappointed in our effort and our intensity level, but I thought we were able to get that going. We accomplished getting our young guys on the floor and them getting something out of it.”
On Jalen Jones‘ performance…
“Jalen knows he’s not playing for three weeks so he was a beast. He played with great energy, great enthusiasm, and was a big key. You can see what a valuable piece he is, just his maturity level and understanding. He plays hard every possession.”
On the zone press and other defensive schemes…
“We’re going to do that. We’re going to press more, we’re going to use our length and try to speed up the game defensively because I think we will be solid defensively. I worry about our young guys having to guard for the full shot clock, and if we can take some time off the clock and slow teams down I think it’s going to help us. We can also trap out of it. [Alex]Caruso, [Danuel] House and Anthony Collins and Jalen [Jones], their athleticism and length get deflections and we can speed up the game defensively. We didn’t do a lot of things that we do in this game. We didn’t show a lot. We were trying to work on some big things. We’ve got some different things we’re going to do this year because we’ve got more depth and we’ve got more athleticism we think.”
On the freshman players’ performance…
“We have some guys that can score. Admon is always an unsung hero. He gets it done. He plays with great pace. He’s one of our best defenders. I’ve really been impressed with him. He’s just a very good player that gets things done. When you look at the stat sheet he’s our second leading scorer tonight. DJ is always a threat, always looking to score. I think we’ve got a team that can score in a hurry and hit two or three three-[pointers] and break a game open. We haven’t always had that.”
TEXAS A&M SENIOR JALEN JONES
On impressions of the game…
“We started off a little rusty but throughout the game we just found a little rhythm, picked up the energy on defense and we started to click and that’s when our defense picked up. Overall, a pretty good team win I would say.”
On preparing to sit out the next four games…
“It’s tough on me but I’ve prepared myself and the coaches have prepared me. All I can do now is continue to push my teammates in practice to the limits and when I’m on the sidelines be the best cheerleader and try to help those guys, talk to them throughout the game as much as possible. I’m just taking it all in, I’ve prepared myself to miss the first four games and I’ve just got to help my teammates from the sidelines.”
TEXAS A&M FRESHMAN ADMON GILDER
On impressions of the game…
“I was just glad that we got the win, that’s the first thing. I enjoyed playing against the team, they played us pretty well. They’re a good team, coached well. I was glad that we all came together and played and got the win.”
On getting the first three pointer of the game…
“First time in Reed Arena and it felt good releasing it.”
On freshmen’s performance…
“Every one of the freshmen played well. D.J. came out hitting jump shots, he is one of the greatest shooters that I know.Tyler Davis, he got in foul trouble but he came back strong, demanding the ball and then pounding in and got some easy buckets in and got to the free throw line.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics