After LSU stranded two in the top of the first, Texas A&M came back in the bottom half as Lamphear’s three-run home run in the next at-bat put the Aggies up 3-0. Defensively, Texas A&M yields 65.0 points against the opposing teams. Jamar Hurdle chipped in 11, but all of them came in the first half. “You look at the stats – they had 46 points in the paint”.
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MARCH SUCCESS: First-year Green Bay coach Linc Darner will make his tournament debut, but he is no stranger to postseason success – having led Division II Florida Southern to a national championship last season. Texas A&M is shooting 67.3% on free throws, 35.3% on three-pointers, and 45% on all field goal attempts.
Jones pretty much said he didn’t want to go into the NIT without it being a “favorable” situation for the Tigers and their fans.
After trailing by as many as eight points early, Texas A&M (27-8) closed the first half on a 27-11 run and led 41-33 at halftime. Led by House and the dominating inside presence of 6-foot-10 freshman Davis, the Aggies lived up to their pre-tournament billing by winning for the ninth time in their last 10 games. What was certain was the Aggies, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011, feel they belong among any mention of the country’s best – and that they are every bit of a No. 3 seed. Tipoff is at 6:20 p.m. Friday against the Texas A&M Aggies.
The Aggies played 12 games against teams that were nationally ranked at the time, with five of those games coming before conference play even started.
Junior guard Tevin Findlay gave the Phoenix a 22-14 advantage with a layup midway through the first half before the Aggies were able to turn it on and play up to their No. 3 seed expectations.
The Phoenix had no answer for House, who followed up his career-high 32-point outburst in last week’s SEC Tournament final against Kentucky with 20 points on Friday. Carrington Love, a 6-1 senior, leads Green Bay with 17.7 points per game.
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Texas A&M’s Mike Barash couldn’t believe his eyes when he rounded third base late Tuesday night, as a packed Blue Bell Park roared its approval. Should Texas win, it will have the opportunity to avenge an 84-73 loss to the Aggies in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. The Phoenix’s “RP40” (which stands for “Relentless Pressure for 40 minutes”) allowed Green Bay to get out on the break for easy baskets while negating Texas A&M’s size edge.
