Texas A&M Stumbles To 4th Straight Loss, 76-71 At LSU
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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Danuel House grimaced, dipped his head and turned back up court as his 3-point attempt missed the rim with 33 seconds left.
House scored 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting for No. 15 Texas A&M, but it wasn't enough to stop a losing streak that reached four games with a 76-71 setback at LSU on Saturday.
"We've just got to go back to the drawing board and find ways to win on the road," said House, whose Aggies have lost their last four away from College Station, Texas. "We're a good team. We've just got to put pieces back together."
Texas A&M (18-7, 7-5 Southeastern Conference) led for much of the game and shot 55.8 percent (29 of 52), but committed 19 turnovers — 10 more than LSU — and were outscored 23-6 on free throws.
"It makes it hard to win," Aggies coach Billy Kennedy said of the free throw and turnover differentials. "We had our chances. That's how well we did some other things. We will build off that."
The Aggies held LSU star freshman Ben Simmons to 4-of-11 shooting, but couldn't stop him from helping the Tigers (16-9, 9-3) in so many other ways.
Playing all 40 minutes, Simmons finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, three steals, a block and no turnovers.
"Any time you play against a really solid defensive basketball team like Texas A&M and not have any turnovers and you're handling the ball for the percentage of time during the game like that, it speaks volumes of his ability to see the floor and make the right plays and the right passes," LSU coach Johnny Jones said of his star freshman. "He can impact the game without taking shots and that's how good he is."
Craig Victor scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and Keith Hornsby added 15 points for LSU, which remained tied atop the SEC standings with Kentucky.
"Victor was a big difference around the basket," Kennedy said. "We had no answer for him. I thought we got out-toughed."
Alex Caruso scored 14 points and Jalen Jones added 12 for the Aggies, who led by as many as seven points early in the second half, but faded down the stretch for a fifth loss in six games, which could drop them out of the AP Top 25.
Texas A&M had its largest lead of the second half when Jones' 3 made it 42-35. LSU then tied it with a 7-0 run that included Victor's four free throws, and the game was a tense, back-and-forth affair for most of the final 16 minutes.
The Tigers were clinging to a 65-64 lead after Caruso's free throws with 3:25 left, but Hornsby and Tim Quarterman combined to quickly give LSU a 70-64 lead; Quarterman set up Hornsby's 3, then Hornsby's steal led to Quarterman's breakaway layup.
Texas A&M trailed by six with a minute remaining, but Antonio Blakeney stripped House, and the Aggies were forced to start fouling. Quarterman made two free throws and House's missed 3-point attempt virtually sealed the result.
UPSET STOMACH
Starting guard Alex Collins played 5 minutes in the first half before leaving the game for good with what Kennedy later described as an apparent stomach illness.
Kennedy said losing the senior guard's poise and ball-handling ability might have contributed to A&M's 19 turnovers, but added, "That is no excuse. Our guys are good enough to have won that game. We can't turn it over that many times."
TIP-INS
Texas A&M: Texas A&M had won the previous three games in the series, including one this season, 71-57, in College Station. ... Caruso, the NCAA's active leader in steals, had three to increase his career total to 257. ... Admon Gilder scored 11 points.
LSU: The Tigers have won 13 of 15 games in the series that have been played in Baton Rouge. ... LSU improved to 6-0 in home SEC games.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M: Hosts Mississippi on Tuesday night.
LSU: Hosts Alabama on Wednesday night.
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