After a strong start, No. 14 seed Green Bay could not keep up with No. 3 seed Texas A&M on Saturday in a 92-65 loss during the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Green Bay led 22-14 early in the first half and trailed only 41-33 at halftime. Texas A&M used a 16-4 run early in the first half to build a 57-39 advantage.
“I thought once we settled down and played the way we were capable of playing and controlling the game a little bit offensively,” Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said, “we moved the ball and did a good job of taking care of the ball.”
The Aggies continued to run away with the game once they solved the Phoenix’s pressure defense, which forced turnovers in 21.1 percent of opponents’ possessions this season.
Five Texas A&M players scored in double figures, led by senior guard Danuel House with 20 points. The Aggies had 20 turnovers but used a 62.3 effective field-goal percentage and 21 free throws to score 1.18 points per possession.
“I think we played an outstanding team in Texas A&M,” Green Bay coach Linc Darner said. “I think they’re good enough to make a run at it.”
In their final game wearing Green Bay uniforms, Phoenix seniors Carrington Love and Jordan Fouse struggled to score but stuffed the box score. Love finished with three points, six assists and five steals. Fouse recorded nine points, six rebounds and four steals.
Sophomore guard Khalil Small netted a game-high 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
“We had a tough time scoring against them,” Darner said. “Even when we got steals and we got out in transition, we had a hard time scoring. They’re an outstanding team defensively, and that was one of my big worries coming in with this game was if we’d be able to score enough points to stay with them. We just weren’t able to do that today.”
