With possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference on the line, the LSU men’s basketball team looked to reestablish itself as a league contender in road matchup with No. 10 Texas A&M.
Instead, the Tigers (11-7, 4-2 SEC) left a hostile Reed Arena in College Station, Texas, still searching for a signature road victory they so desperately need.
After a seesaw first half, LSU knocked down just 32 percent of its shots in the second half, including a 1-for-8 clip from three-point territory, as the Aggies (16-2, 6-0 SEC) took firm control in the final 15 minutes of the game on their way to a 71-57 win on Tuesday evening.
Freshman forward Ben Simmons finished the game with his 14th double-double in the 18th game of his career, but he scored just 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting in 38 minutes of action. Simmons’ frontcourt counterpart, sophomore forward Craig Victor II, battled foul trouble throughout, registering just 10 points in 23 total minutes.
“It exposed us a little bit inside, especially the way that [Victor’s] been playing – the impact that he’s made on the game,” said LSU coach Johnny Jones in a postgame radio interview. “For him to have to go to the bench early in the second half with his fourth foul, that certainly hurt us because we couldn’t defend them [inside].”
The Tigers led by as many six points in the first half, aided by a 5-for-8 start from beyond the arc and an aggressive performance off the bench from junior guard Tim Quarterman, who finished with 12 points in 23 minutes.
Despite eight ties in the first half, LSU went into halftime trailing, 38-34, on the heels of a 1-for-11 finish to the half, and the Tigers failed to regain the lead after the 15:13 mark of the second half.
“I thought we played well in some stretches, and then I thought they did a great job of going on a run,” Jones said. “They grinded it out offensively and made some tough shots – got second-chance opportunities and putbacks. On the defensive end, I thought they did a great job of limiting us a lot of times to one shot, and we could not get it going during that stretch.”
On top of that, LSU turned the ball over 19 times and allowed 42 points in the paint. Conversely, Texas A&M was offensively efficient, assisting on 21-of-28 made baskets. Senior forward Jalen Jones and freshman center Tyler Davis were responsible for most of the first half scoring and finished with 20 and 18 points, respectively.
LSU shook off late-first half shooting woes to begin the second half, as Victor and Simmons combined for six of the Tigers’ first eight points. Although LSU regained a brief lead on a jumper from senior guard Keith Hornsby, Victor picked up his fourth foul with 16:50 left in the first half.
With Victor on the bench, the Aggies took a 10-point lead on freshman guard Admon Gilder’s layup shortly before an LSU timeout at the 9:33 mark. The double-digit lead capped a 7-0 run.
Victor rejoined the Tigers after the LSU timeout, but Aggie freshman forward D.J. Hogg buried a trey from the top of the key to extend Texas A&M’s advantage to 13 points and the run to 10-0.
The Aggies led by as many 16 points by the end of the game, as LSU connected on just two of its last 11 attempts from the field.
“We missed some close-in shots — some layups around the rim — and then we had some open looks from the outside that wouldn’t go for us,” Jones said. “Against a team like this, you have to execute, shoot a high volume and do a great job of shooting it. We did not do that for long stretches tonight.”