National Basketball Association
Texas A&M 81, Montana 64
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Where: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
Officials:
# Rod Dixon, # Keith Kimble, # Robert Lehigh
Attendance:
2583
By SportsDirect Inc.
Texas A&M 81, Montana 64: Jalen Jones scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead host Aggies in the first round of the NIT.
Freshman Alex Robinson finished with a season-high 15 points to go along with eight rebounds, Jordan Green scored 15 and Peyton Allen added 12 for Texas A&M (21-11), which snapped a three-game losing streak. The Aggies, who shot a blistering 72.7 percent in the second half and 58.2 percent for the game, hosts Louisiana Tech in the second round.
Jordan Gregory scored 20 points, including 5-of-11 from 3-point range, grabbed seven rebounds and had five assists to lead Montana (20-13), which was co-champion with Eastern Washington in the Big Sky Conference. Brandon Gfeller added 18 points, including 6-of-11 from behind the arc, and Martin Breunig scored 12 for the Grizzlies, who shot 40.4 percent from the field overall and 13-of-35 from 3-point range.
Texas A&M, the No. 2 seed which was making its first NIT appearance since 2005, showed no signs of a letdown after being passed over for an NCAA Tournament at-large spot, bolting to a 33-15 lead in the first 15 minutes. But Gfeller connected on 4-of-4 3-pointers over the span of less than four minutes to fuel a 18-5 run and the Grizzlies closed to within 38-33 at halftime.
Gfeller's fifth 3-pointer gave Montana its first lead 43-41 early in the second half. But Texas A&M regrouped a few minutes later and went on a 22-3 run en route to a 68-51 lead, and the Grizzlies never got closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Texas A&M played its third straight game without leading scorer Danuel House (14.8), who was sidelined with a sprained left foot but may be back for the second-round game ... The Aggies finished with a 44-16 edge in points in the paint ... Montana fell to 0-5 all-time in the NIT while A&M improved to 7-6.
Top Game Performances
| Montana |
|
Texas A&M |
|
Jordan Gregory 20 |
Scoring |
Jalen Jones 25 |
|
Jordan Gregory 5 |
Assists |
Alex Robinson 8 |
|
Jordan Gregory 7 |
Rebounds |
Jalen Jones 8 |
|
Jordan Gregory 3 |
Free Throws Made |
Alex Robinson 3 |
|
Mario Dunn Jr. 2 |
Steals |
Alex Caruso 1 |
|
N/A |
Blocks |
Tonny Trocha-Morelos 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Montana
|
64 |
40.4 |
13-35 |
5-7 |
18 |
25 |
0 |
3 |
10 |
| Texas A&M
|
81 |
58.2 |
8-18 |
9-14 |
20 |
32 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
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