The LSU men’s basketball team gave its early-rising fans plenty to cheer for in the first half Saturday morning.
For the 10,000-plus in attendance, those good feelings didn’t last against visiting Texas A&M.
After one of their most complete first halves of their season, the Tigers couldn’t overcome a plethora of mistakes down the stretch, and the Aggies capitalized to take down LSU, 67-64, in the PMAC.
With his team trailing 64-63, Texas A&M junior guard Danuel House hit a mid-range jumper to give his Aggies (11-5, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) a one-point lead with 23 seconds left in the game.
House then ripped the ball from LSU junior guard Josh Gray after he went around a screen on the next possession before getting fouled by junior guard Keith Hornsby.
“I was trying to create for my teammates and get in the lane,” said Gray, who turned the ball over four times on Saturday. “Unfortunately, I lost the ball.”

After the foul, House went to the line and cooly drained a pair of free throws to ice the game for his Aggies.
House and Texas A&M junior guard Jalen Jones scored 18 points apiece to lead the Aggies, who outscored the Tigers in the paint (40-30), off of turnovers (20-16) and in transition (8-4). Texas A&M also controlled the glass, 41-40, and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds for 14 second-chance points.
LSU sophomore forward Jordan Mickey led the Tigers with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks, his second consecutive game with at least six blocks. Sophomore forward Jarell Martin complimented Mickey with 12 points but had only four after halftime as the Tigers got away from their big men down low.
“As we got up 10, 11 points, I thought we didn’t focus and value the possessions like we needed to,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones. “The things that allowed us to get up 10, 11 points, we did not continue to do. Offensively, we took some quick shots.”
In the second half, the Tigers (13-4, 2-2 SEC) turned the ball over nine times and shot an alarming 29.4 percent from the field, including a 1-of-13 mark from 3-point territory. LSU tallied a season-worst 24 points after halftime.
“We took some bad shots and had some costly and unforced turnovers,” Mickey said. “We just have to do better down the stretch, execute our plays, get the rebounds and get the shots we want.”
It was the Mickey-and-Martin show early on. With a few NBA scouts watching their every move from the stands, Mickey and Martin scored 17 of LSU’s first 22 points, going a combined 7-for-11 from the field.
Behind their star forward tandem, the Tigers reeled off a 14-0 run to overcome an early 9-2 deficit and take control of the first half.
Texas A&M junior guard Alex Caruso stopped the bleeding with a much-needed 3-pointer, but Gray answered back on the next possession with a 3 of his own to give the Tigers a 19-12 lead early in the first half.

After Mickey and Martin dominated inside early, the Tigers’ shooters caught fire from outside.
LSU hit a season-best six 3-pointers in the first half while connecting on 60 percent of its attempts from deep. Freshman guard Jalyn Patterson, who scored 13 points off the bench, hit a pair of bombs in the first half while four other Tigers each connected on one.
Hornsby hit a 3-ball from the corner just before the halftime buzzer sounded to give LSU a 40-32 lead at the break.
But after building their lead to as many as 11 in the second half, the Tigers, as they’ve done on numerous occasions this season, allowed their opponent to crawl back in the game.
House cut the Tigers’ lead to one after hitting a 3-pointer with 4:26 left in the game. Hornsby scored in transition off a feed from sophomore guard Tim Quarterman, but Caruso answered back with a jumper to give Texas A&M its first lead since the 16:47 mark of the first half.
LSU won’t have much time to ponder how it allowed another lead to slip away. The Tigers will travel to Gainesville, Florida for an SEC matchup against the Gators at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
“We have another tough game Tuesday at Florida,” Gray said. “We have to put this game behind us and shake back as a team.”