COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Thirteen turned out to be a lucky number for the LSU men’s basketball team Saturday night.
That was the number of consecutive losses LSU racked up in true road games before pulling off a huge 68-53 upset of Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
The Tigers’ futility dated to the final three road games of the 2022 season — a dubious streak that began, interestingly enough, after a 76-68 win over Texas A&M on the same Reed Arena floor on Feb. 8, 2022.
Down 32-30 at halftime, LSU, an 11½-point underdog, came out and scored the first eight points of the second half to set the tone for what was to come.
The Tigers wound up outscoring the Aggies 38-21 in the second half to secure the win.
Texas A&M had won 12 SEC games in a row on its home floor dating to that loss to LSU nearly two years ago.
Jordan Wright scored nine points in the second half, Cook dropped in eight and Will Baker and Jalen Reed pitched in with six each as LSU (9-5) took the fight to Texas A&M (9-5) after both teams struggled to shoot the ball in the first 20 minutes.
As the score indicated, LSU dominated on both ends of the floor in the second half.
“Well, on the offensive end, we were efficient,” Tigers coach Matt McMahon said of the difference in the second half. “On the defensive end, I’m sure they missed some open looks.
“I just thought our team kept its composure. When it (the lead) was down to seven or eight there, we made some big plays.”
Wright had his first double-double in an LSU uniform when he finished with a team-high 20 points and led the team with 10 rebounds.
While the scoring was key, his work on the glass was big as the Tigers outrebounded one of the more physical teams in the nation 46-40.
The big stat there was on the offensive backboards.
A&M led the nation going into the game in averaging 18.7, but it had just five in the first half.
Even though the Aggies finished with 13, the Tigers outdid them with 14 and turned it into a wide 18-3 advantage in second-chance points.
“We didn't shut them down, but we were able to hold them in check,” a relieved McMahon said.
After a slow start, Cook was only other LSU player to score in double digits with 13.
He made just 2 of 9 shots from the field in the first half, but connected on 3 of 4 in the second half as the Tigers shot 47.1% to the Aggies’ 21.9%.
LSU shot 40.3% (27 of 67) for the game and had 16 field goals in the second half — one more than A&M had in the entire 40-minute contest. The Aggies shot 25.4% (15 of 59).
Even though it was one of the worst Division I teams in the early part of the season in assist to turnover ratio, LSU had 16 assists and 12 turnovers.
Eight of the 10 Tigers who played had at least one assist with Cook leading the way with three.
The Tigers had just five giveaways in the first half, which helped then hang around. Their largest deficit in the game was five points (12-7) with 15:27 left until halftime.
The Aggies helped out late in the first half and early stages of the second. They missed 13 field-goal attempts in a row in an 8½-minute stretch that turned a three-point deficit for the Tigers into a four-point lead.
In addition to its 8-0 start to the second half, a 17-7 run over an eight-minute stretch gave LSU a 55-44 advantage with 8:07 to play.
“We knew the tougher team would win,” said Wright, who added two assists, two steals and a blocked shot. “We knew if we could limit them with their offensive rebounds and force them into tougher shots, shots that we wanted them to shoot, we had to rebound.”
When Texas A&M tried to fight back behind preseason All-SEC player of the year Wade Taylor, who had 23 points, LSU continued to build the lead to 12, 14 and finally 15 points — the final points coming on a pair of Baker free throws with 1:17 remaining.
Baton Rouge native Tyrece “Boots” Radford was the only other A&M player in double figures with 11 points. But he was 4 of 18 from the field, while Taylor was 8 of 20.
That backcourt duo combined to go 5 of 19 from beyond the 3-point arc. The rest of the team was 0 of 9 and they went 5 of 28 for 25.0%. They came in ranked 339th out of 351 Division I teams in 3-point shooting at 27.4%.
“It felt really good to get a win on the road, but we were the tougher team tonight,” Wright said. “And I think that helped prepare us to come here and win.”