Under the lights of the Toyota Center in Houston, the Texas A&M Aggies upset the Louisiana State Tigers 72-61 on Saturday.
A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon said the big arena helped his team get the needed victory.
"It wasn't difficult to get fired up," Turgeon said. "It's a great atmosphere here, and the fans were hungry to see a win with Texas here."
Louisiana State entered the match with an 8-0 record under the direction of first-year Head Coach Trent Johnson. Johnson has led the Tigers to their best start since the 2003-2004 season.
The Aggies, who entered the game with a 9-1 record, lost the opening tip to the Tigers and allowed the first points of the game but answered back with an inside lay-up by senior guard Josh Carter. The shot sparked a 7-0 run by A&M, which was ended by a hook shot from Louisiana State junior forward Tasmin Mitchell.
The Tigers responded with a 5-0 run, boosted by shots from Mitchell and senior guard Marcus Thornton.
Both teams struggled with fouls during the opening of the first half, recording five fouls for each team in the first 10 minutes of the game.
After junior center Chinemelu Elonu scored a lay up, the Aggie squad went on a 9-2 run against the Tigers, extending its lead to seven points with more than seven minutes remaining in the half.
But the Tigers kept the game close with jump shots from Mitchell and Thornton, who combined for 23 of the team's 27 first half points.
Carter led the Aggies in points with nine going into the second half. A&M's bench outscored the Louisiana State bench 8-0. The Aggies held a 30-27 lead at halftime.
The second half opened with a layup from Elonu after an offensive rebound. Elonu ended the game with eight points, four rebounds, and two blocks.
Louisiana State, which entered the match No. 1 nationally in rebounding, were out rebounded 33-26 by A&M. Junior guard Donald Sloan led the Aggies with seven rebounds.
"Our offensive rebounding was excellent tonight," Turgeon said. "We had our best effort this season in rebounding by far."
The teams exchanged field goals until the Aggies went on a 12-2 run propelled by a dunk from Elonu and a three-pointer from Carter to make the score 49-37.
Louisiana State fought back in the remaining ten minutes to bring the game to 57-55. A&M junior forward Bryan Davis then scored back-to-back lay-ups to give the Aggies a more comfortable lead.
"I think those possessions really helped our team get focused again," said Davis, who scored 16 points.
Turgeon said the Aggies clinched the victory when Carter, who finished with 19 points, took a charge on a Louisiana State 4-on-1 fast break.
"We were begging Josh to take a charge in the time outs near the end of the game," Turgeon said. "We knew if he could get one, the game would be over. He sure took a good one."
Josh Carter said the foul was an interesting experience.
"I just saw four dudes coming at me, and I was the only guy around," Carter said. "I stood in for the charge and fortunately the call went our way."
A&M scored its final nine points of the game at the free throw line. The Aggies were 73 percent from the free throw line, shot 50 percent from the field, and recorded fifteen fouls against Louisiana State.
The Tigers finished the game with a 46.4 field goal percentage, 23 fouls and six steals. Mitchell scored 16 points while Thornton scored 23.
The Aggies improved to 10-1 and handed the Tigers their first loss of the 2008-2009 season.
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