Texas A&M
1-1
Dayton
2-0
Basketball Falls in Final Seconds to Dayton, 55-53
Nov 20, 2014 | Men's Basketball
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Dayton's Devon Scott tipped in a missed layup with 1 second remaining and the Flyers held on to beat Texas A&M 55-53 Thursday in the opening game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
The Aggies' Alex Caruso got off a 3-pointer as time expired, but it bounced off the side of the rim.
Dyshawn Pierre led Dayton with 14 points. Kyle Davis added 10 for the Flyers (2-0), who were outrebounded 48-25 by the Aggies, including 24-4 on offense.
Texas A&M didn't help itself, committing 21 turnovers that led to 20 Dayton points.
Caruso led the Aggies with 17 points. Kourtney Roberson had 12 points and 15 rebounds.
Neither team built more than a six-point advantage in the second half and Dayton's Jordan Sibert connected on a pair of free throws to tie the game with less than a minute to play.
Caruso then had a layup attempt blocked on the Aggies' next possession, setting up Scott's eventual winner.
Play was sloppy on both sides during the first half, and neither team shot above 36 percent from the field.
The Aggies enjoyed a 28-10 rebounding edge at half and were up 8 at one point. But the Flyers were able to stay in the game thanks to 15 Texas A&M turnovers.
TEAM RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
● Texas A&M fell to 1-1 on the season, it marks the first time a Billy Kennedy coached A&M team failed to start a season 2-0.
● Dayton now leads the all-time series 2-0, the previous match up was in 1999 in Dayton.
TEAM NOTES
● The Aggies were an impressive 11-for-24 from the floor in the second half, bringing their overall shooting percentage to 34.6 on the day.
● After failing to make a three-pointer in the first 20 minutes, the Aggies bounced back to make three of four in the second half.
● The maroon and white controlled the boards, outrebounding the Flyers 47-26 on the day. Thursday's game marked the first time A&M outrebounded an opponent by 20 or more since their first-ever SEC game against Arkansas(W, 69-51, Jan. 9, 2013, 51-27 rebounds)
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
● Senior Kourtney Roberson set a career-high with 15 rebounds, 10 on the offensive glass. The Louisiana native notched his eighth career double-double with 12 points on the day.
● Junior Alex Caruso paced the maroon and white attack with 17 points, 14 of which came after half time. Caruso scored eight of A&M's first nine points in the second period.
● Junior Antwan Space collected nine rebounds off the bench in 20 minutes of action.
● Junior Jalen Jones filled up the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds, two steals and one block.
FIRST HALF NOTES
● The A&M defense held Dayton off the scoreboard for the first 2:35 before Scoochie Smith made a free-throw. The Flyers missed their first five shots from the floor.
● The Aggies owned the boards in the first half, grabbing 28 rebounds to Dayton's 10 through the first 20 minutes of action. Roberson led both teams with 11 rebounds at the break.
UP NEXT
● Texas A&M will face off with the loser of the UConn/College of Charleston game at 11:00 a.m. (CT) Friday in the consolation bracket of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off ... the Tournament concludes on Sunday.
Head Coach Billy Kennedy, Texas A&M
“We need to execute better, especially in special situations like today. I have to a better job getting our team prepared for situations like we faced today in a very hard-fought game. Some little things like that. You get that many offensive rebounds like we did today you have to score. I thought we missed a lot of layups and scoring opportunities. They are a good, tough, physical team and they make you earn every bucket. Little things—missed free throws, we have to do a better job finishing and Dayton did it today.”
“We had so many opportunities to score layups and when you get to this level you just have to be able to put them in the basket. Offensively we moved the ball and we got to the rim but we didn't finish our second chances. It was a hard-fought, physical game with a lot of bumping and grinding going on and a lot of fouls called. Getting in foul trouble hurt us especially with a lack of depth on the perimeter. They found a way to win. We did all the tough things to win, we just have to get better and I think these guys can and I think that they will.”
Head Coach Archie Miller, Dayton
“To play our second game of the year at a neutral site traveling against a very good opponent we know it would be a hard-fought game and that's exactly what it was today. Playing against Texas A&M, I thought our defense did what it is predominantly supposed to do. We competed very, very hard and caused some turnovers. Deflection reactiveness really saved us because our lack of rebounding and offensive fluidness wasn't there. I have been saying it, but we're a work in progress.
“It's going to take us some time to really figure out who we are. But one thing I do know is that the experienced guys on our team are battled tested and have been in that situation a ton and you could tell down the stretch we were mentally really into it. Kyle (Davis) in particular the reason he is sitting here (in the post-game media conference) because he had a couple special bursts, especially in the last eight minutes of the first half that really saved us and kept us in the game. For many moments we couldn't have him off of the floor, it is a credit to him and to how he has practiced. If we can get some other guys playing up to their potential, you'll see a better Dayton team out there.”
“At the end Scoochie (Smith) got a good pass crossed out and had a straight line to the basket and usually what beats you if the basket doesn't go is a put back and Devon (Scott) was there at the end and tapped one home for the win. To be honest with you Devon hasn't been playing the way he has been in particular in rebounding the ball. Once we watch the film and see what was really going on out there we'll figure it out and move forward. Devon is very important to us, but everybody is important to us. Every guy on this team has to play at a high level for us to succeed.””
Kyle Davis, sophomore Guard, Dayton
“We have been pushing and pushing to get better and stay focused. Every time in practice, we preach defense, defense, defense. If our offense isn't working, one thing we know is that our defense will be working. If I am working hard and everybody sees I'm working hard, my team will get on the bandwagon and help me out and that's what happened today. We really helped each other out. We had a very poor game offensively, but we didn't quiet and pulled it out at the very end.”
Team Stats
Game Leaders
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