Billy Kennedy
Jones & House
Scott Drew
Texas A&M Basketball
No. 24 Aggies dominate No. 16 Baylor at Reed Arena, 80-61
Texas A&M took a giant step toward a return to March Madness with a big dose of December Delirium on Saturday night.
Danuel House and Jalen Jones each scored 17 points and freshman center Tyler Davis scored 15 as the 24th-ranked Aggies dominated and dismantled No. 16 Baylor, 80-61, in front of a national television audience and a raucous Reed Arena crowd of 9,056.
It was A&M’s biggest win over a ranked team since defeating No. 25 Texas Tech, 85-63, on Feb. 26, 2005.
It was also a second victory over a ranked opponent (the Aggies earlier defeated then-No. 10 Gonzaga), and a third victory over a Big 12 Conference opponent.
“This was a resume builder,” House said. “This was two ranked teams playing each other as hard as possible. The (NCAA selection) committee will look back when it’s time to punch a ticket to NCAAs and see the wins. This is a good win for our school and our basketball program, period.”
It was also sweet revenge for a 77-63 loss endured last season in Waco in which the Aggies were thoroughly outclassed on the boards and managed just one offensive rebound.
The Aggies (9-2) topped that total in the first three minutes and went on to dominate in the paint.
A&M held a 44-41 advantage in rebounds. The Aggies had 19 offensive boards. They outscored Baylor 38-22 in the paint and had 15 second-chance points.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The Aggies took the fight to Rico Gathers (2) and the Bears in the paint early and often, holding a double-digit lead for much of the contest.
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“We take pride in rebounding.” Jones said. “We always try to dominate the paint. Baylor is a physical team. They’re tough. They get most of their points in the paint. We said we were not going to have that and it showed tonight.”
Baylor (8-2) had to rely on its backcourt for scoring. Guard Lester Medfored led with 16 points, while guard Ishmail Wainright scored 12 — all on three-point shots.
Hulking 6-8, 275-pound forward Rico Gathers pulled in 18 rebounds, but managed only eight points while working primarily against Davis, who last year tweeted: “Help is coming” while watching Baylor dominate the Aggies on the boards.
Taurean Prince, who was averaging 15.3 points, was held to eight.
“They embarrassed us at their place (last year),” Jones said. “We wanted to get payback. We’re a dangerous team when we’re clicking.”
A&M was clicking from the outset.
The Aggies scored the game’s first seven points and shot 72.7 percent (8 of 11) in the first eight minutes. House, who had struggled with his shot in the previous four games, drilled two deep three-pointers barely a minute apart as the Aggies opened up an early 22-9 lead.
On a night promoting a “Star Wars” theme, it was a return of the dead-eye. House hit five of seven field goal attempts and nailed three three-pointers in the first half.
“House came out and seemed like he was hitting threes from everywhere,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “That got them momentum and really got them going.”
The Aggies shot 60 percent in the first half (18 of 30) and held at least an eight-point lead for 35-and-a-half minutes of the game.
A&M’s first-half lead climbed as high as 22 points, 48-22, on a layup by Tonny Trocha-Morelos and the Aggies maintained a 51-30 cushion at halftime.
“I thought we would play well,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “When you prepare the right way, have good players, and have the right attitude in practice, you’re going to win games. I felt they prepared well all week. I’d be shocked if we didn’t play well. I didn’t know we’d shoot as well as we did early. We moved the ball and shot well.”
However, A&M needed to play a strong second half, too.
The Aggies almost lost a 19-point lead in last week’s 78-68 victory over Kansas State.
Also, two weeks ago Baylor rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Vanderbilt 69-67.
“The first five minutes we needed to come out and be the aggressor,” Kennedy said.“I thought we set the tone defensively.
“Our mindset was really good. Coming out in the second half it was a big step for our team and our program to come out with an aggressive mindset and not rest. Against Kansas State we rested. I was somewhat concerned, but our guys did a good job coming out in the second half.”
Indeed, they did.
Alex Caruso opened the second half scoring with a reverse baseline layup. Jones followed with a short jumper. House then added another three-pointer for a 58-30 lead.
Baylor had a chance to rally when A&M’s shooters went cold and hit just 3 of 19 shots during a 12-minute span.
However, Baylor also hit just 3 of 19 attempts in that same span. Baylor never got closer than 19 points in the second half.
“They did a great job starting the game. I was disappointed we could never get back into it,’ Drew said. “Normally, this year when we’ve got down we’ve been able to answer it and either win the game or get back in the game. Neither happened.”
Danuel House and Jalen Jones each scored 17 points and freshman center Tyler Davis scored 15 as the 24th-ranked Aggies dominated and dismantled No. 16 Baylor, 80-61, in front of a national television audience and a raucous Reed Arena crowd of 9,056.
It was A&M’s biggest win over a ranked team since defeating No. 25 Texas Tech, 85-63, on Feb. 26, 2005.
It was also a second victory over a ranked opponent (the Aggies earlier defeated then-No. 10 Gonzaga), and a third victory over a Big 12 Conference opponent.
“This was a resume builder,” House said. “This was two ranked teams playing each other as hard as possible. The (NCAA selection) committee will look back when it’s time to punch a ticket to NCAAs and see the wins. This is a good win for our school and our basketball program, period.”
It was also sweet revenge for a 77-63 loss endured last season in Waco in which the Aggies were thoroughly outclassed on the boards and managed just one offensive rebound.
The Aggies (9-2) topped that total in the first three minutes and went on to dominate in the paint.
A&M held a 44-41 advantage in rebounds. The Aggies had 19 offensive boards. They outscored Baylor 38-22 in the paint and had 15 second-chance points.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
The Aggies took the fight to Rico Gathers (2) and the Bears in the paint early and often, holding a double-digit lead for much of the contest.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"The Aggies took the fight to Rico Gathers (2) and the Bears in the paint early and often, holding a double-digit lead for much of the contest.","MediaItemID":64097}
Baylor (8-2) had to rely on its backcourt for scoring. Guard Lester Medfored led with 16 points, while guard Ishmail Wainright scored 12 — all on three-point shots.
Hulking 6-8, 275-pound forward Rico Gathers pulled in 18 rebounds, but managed only eight points while working primarily against Davis, who last year tweeted: “Help is coming” while watching Baylor dominate the Aggies on the boards.
Taurean Prince, who was averaging 15.3 points, was held to eight.
“They embarrassed us at their place (last year),” Jones said. “We wanted to get payback. We’re a dangerous team when we’re clicking.”
A&M was clicking from the outset.
The Aggies scored the game’s first seven points and shot 72.7 percent (8 of 11) in the first eight minutes. House, who had struggled with his shot in the previous four games, drilled two deep three-pointers barely a minute apart as the Aggies opened up an early 22-9 lead.
On a night promoting a “Star Wars” theme, it was a return of the dead-eye. House hit five of seven field goal attempts and nailed three three-pointers in the first half.
“House came out and seemed like he was hitting threes from everywhere,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “That got them momentum and really got them going.”
The Aggies shot 60 percent in the first half (18 of 30) and held at least an eight-point lead for 35-and-a-half minutes of the game.
A&M’s first-half lead climbed as high as 22 points, 48-22, on a layup by Tonny Trocha-Morelos and the Aggies maintained a 51-30 cushion at halftime.
“I thought we would play well,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “When you prepare the right way, have good players, and have the right attitude in practice, you’re going to win games. I felt they prepared well all week. I’d be shocked if we didn’t play well. I didn’t know we’d shoot as well as we did early. We moved the ball and shot well.”
However, A&M needed to play a strong second half, too.
The Aggies almost lost a 19-point lead in last week’s 78-68 victory over Kansas State.
Also, two weeks ago Baylor rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Vanderbilt 69-67.
Coming out in the second half, it was a big step for our team and our program to come out with an aggressive mindset and not rest. Against Kansas State we rested. I was somewhat concerned, but our guys did a good job coming out in the second half.
{"Module":"quote","Alignment":"right","Quote":"Coming out in the second half, it was a big step for our team and our program to come out with an aggressive mindset and not rest. Against Kansas State we rested. I was somewhat concerned, but our guys did a good job coming out in the second half.","Author":"Billy Kennedy"}
At halftime, Kennedy told the Aggies they needed to start the second half fast.“The first five minutes we needed to come out and be the aggressor,” Kennedy said.“I thought we set the tone defensively.
“Our mindset was really good. Coming out in the second half it was a big step for our team and our program to come out with an aggressive mindset and not rest. Against Kansas State we rested. I was somewhat concerned, but our guys did a good job coming out in the second half.”
Indeed, they did.
Alex Caruso opened the second half scoring with a reverse baseline layup. Jones followed with a short jumper. House then added another three-pointer for a 58-30 lead.
Baylor had a chance to rally when A&M’s shooters went cold and hit just 3 of 19 shots during a 12-minute span.
However, Baylor also hit just 3 of 19 attempts in that same span. Baylor never got closer than 19 points in the second half.
“They did a great job starting the game. I was disappointed we could never get back into it,’ Drew said. “Normally, this year when we’ve got down we’ve been able to answer it and either win the game or get back in the game. Neither happened.”
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