Tyler Davis, No. 20 Texas A&M overwhelm Cal Poly, 82-63

The Texas A&M basketball team ended its 10-day holiday hiatus with a comfortable 82-63 win over the Cal Poly Mustangs on Tuesday night at Reed Arena.

The Aggies took control of the game midway through the first half with a 13-0 run to build a 24-9 lead, with the help of three consecutive three-point buckets and a series of turnovers by the usually reliable Mustangs.

Cal Poly came into the game as one of the nation's leaders in fewest turnovers, but a stifling pressure defense by Texas A&M forced eight turnovers in the first seven minutes of the contest.

"Alex Caruso set the tone defensively," Aggies coach Billy Kennedy said. "He dominated early, getting his hands on balls and disrupting their offense and creating turnovers." 

Texas A&M exploited its substantial size advantage in the paint, feeding freshman Tyler Davis in the low post for several point-blank baskets to help sustain the early run. Davis led the team in first half scoring with 12 points, making 5-of-6 from the field.

The lead stretched to 19 at the 8:16 mark, but Cal Poly stayed within striking distance late in the first half with the hot shooting of Reese Morgan, who hit 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and led the Mustangs with 10 first half points.

Brian Bennett's two putbacks in the closing minute brought Cal Poly to within 15 points at halftime, 44-29.    

Cal Poly opened the second stanza on a 6-2 run to cut the margin to 46-35 at the 15:27 mark, and edged even closer with a pair of free throws by Luke Meikle to bring the Mustangs within nine points at 57-48 inside nine minutes to play.

However, senior Jalen Jones quickly took control of the game, scoring the game's next seven points in less than a two-minute span to expand the lead to 16.

Texas A&M seemed to wake up from its second half slumber at that point. A pair of three-pointers by Anthony Collins and a bucket beyond the arc by Alex Caruso ballooned the lead to 73-51 and put the game safely away with roughly four minutes left in the contest. 

"That's what seniors do," said Kennedy. "In the first half it was Alex (Caruso), and in the second half it was Jalen stepping up."

Davis led Texas A&M with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds while Daniel House scored 12, along with Collins and Jones who chipped in 11 apiece.

Reese Morgan led Cal Poly in scoring with 16 points.

Texas A&M will open SEC play next Saturday against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Reed Arena.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 and the game will be televised by the SEC Network.