Men's Basketball Posts 40-Point Win in Season Opener

Friday, November 13

College Station

8:30 PM

Texas A&M

1-0

104

USC Upstate

0-1

USC Upstate

Texas A&M

104

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Nov 13, 2015 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

COLLEGE STATION (AP) -- Texas A&M rode 66.7 percent shooting to its lopsided 104-64 home victory South Carolina Upstate on Friday.

Billy Kennedy's squad make 13 of 24 from shots from behind the three-point arc. That sizzling shooting display allowed the Aggies to expand its slim 9-8 lead with 15:17 left in the first half into 52-32 halftime advantage over the Spartans. Texas A&M, an SEC team, enjoyed a distinct size advantage at nearly every position over USC Upstate, an Atlantic Sun team.

The Aggies started its version of Twin Towers in Tonny Trocha-Morelos, a 6-foot-10 native of Colombia, and Tyler Davis, 6-10, 275-pound prize freshman from Plano, Texas.The Spartans' tallest starters were 6-6 senior Marvin Smith and 6-6 sophomore Jacob Schulte. Not surprisingly, the Aggies hammered the Spartans on both backboards (46-29) in the 40-point win.

Six different Aggies scored in double figures in the lopsided opening win -- led by 6-7 freshman sharpshooter D.J. Hogg, a former Plano West High School teammate of the aforementioned Davis, who scored 20 points off the bench.Davis and 6-3 freshman guard Admon Gilder tallied 16 points apiece, while 6-7 senior forward Danuel House (15 points), Trocha-Morelos (12 points) and 6-9 freshman power forward Elijah Thomas (11 points) also finished in double digits for the Aggies, who will next host Southeastern Louisiana on Monday.

Postgame Notes

RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
? Texas A&M opened the season with a win for the 15^th consecutive season as well as earning a victory for their 16 consecutive home opener… Since 1945, Texas A&M is 47-23 during its first tilt of the season.
? A&M now leads the all-time series with USC Upstate, 1-0.

TEAM NOTES
? The Aggies racked up 32 assists on 38 made field goals, while shooting an impressive 66.7 percent from the field.
? The 104-point output was the second most of the Billy Kennedy era, topping a 109-point performance against Northwestern State during last season's opener (Nov. 14, 2014).
? It also marks the second game of 100-points or more during Kennedy's tenue as well as the 54^th in program history.
? Additionally, the 40-point win was the second largest margin of victory for Texas A&M since Billy Kennedy's arrival, trailing only last year's Northwestern State contest.
? Texas A&M placed six players in double-digit scoring for the first time since the aforementioned Northwestern State contest, when seven players hit the mark.
? The Aggies dished out 32 assists in the contest, marking the first time they've had 30 or more since Dec. 28, 2006, vs. Grambling State (30).
? The Aggies owned a 52-32 halftime advantage, led by 12 points from Danuel House & D.J. Hogg.
? Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Anthony Collins, Alex Caruso, Danuel House, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Tyler Davis for the first time this season (1-0).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
? Freshman DJ Hogg lead all scorers with 20 point in the contest, hitting 7-of-11 field goal attempts including 5-of-9 from 3-point range.
? Fellow rookie Tyler Davis was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, contributing 16 points.
? Senior point guard Anthony Collins dished out eight assists, while classmate Alex Caruso fished with six.
? Five Aggie freshman made their Texas A&M debuts in the contest, with DJ Hogg (20), Tyler Davis (16), Admon Gilder (16) and Elijah Thomas (11) combining for 63 points.
? Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy improved to 72-61 in his fifth season at Texas A&M and 283-240 in 18 seasons as head coach,

UP NEXT
? Texas A&M returns to the court at Reed Arena on Monday night when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. with the game streamed live on SEC Network PLUS.

Postgame Quotes

TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH BILLY KENNEDY
Opening Statement…
"Really like pace of game offensively and defensively. Our boys did a good job of sharing the ball. We had 32 assists, the team was making shots and playing unselfish. I though Upstate was organized, you could tell they were young and well-coached. It was a good team for us to go against."

On the team's newcomers…
"It's fun to see good players play. Our seniors do a good job of getting the ball to places they can score. They are good players and they are only going to get better. Elijah has only practiced for one week in the past four or five weeks and you can see he has a chance to help us once he improves. "

USC UPSTATE HEAD COACH EDDIE PAYNE
Opening Statement…
"First I would say, that's the best team we have played since Ohio State five years ago. They have experience, and ball handling guards that don't turn the ball over. They make good passes. They have shooters who space the floor on you. They have a really good blend of pieces that fit together really well. They are really good in transition. They don't know what this is all about until they play a team like this, so this could do nothing but help us. As far as A&M they are exceptionally good."