Published January 13, 2015
Texas A&M forward Kourtney Roberson scored a career-high 24 points as the Aggies eased past Mississippi Valley State 91-67 on Monday night.
The Aggies led 33-16 with 5:43 left in the first half before the Delta Devils outscored A&M 19-9 heading into the locker room. The Delta Devils, who lost 117-62 on Friday at Oklahoma State, at one point narrowed the Aggies' lead to 58-57 with 11:31 remaining.
"We started the game with a lot of confidence and ball movement, and then I thought we got comfortable," A&M third-year coach Billy Kennedy said. "We got too loose defensively, and offensively things came too easy for us in the beginning."
While the Delta Devils kept the game close for most of the second half, A&M (2-0) led throughout. Forward Jamal Jones drained a 3-pointer with 5:34 remaining to shove the Aggies to a 75-63 lead, and A&M outscored MVSU 16-4 the rest of the way.
"I'm proud of my players for about 20 minutes that they played," MVSU coach Chico Potts said. "It's all about consistency. If they can give me that for 20 minutes, I believe they can give that to me for 40 minutes."
Jones and Alex Caruso followed Roberson in the scoring column with 14 points each.
Anthony McDonald led the Delta Devils (0-2) with 21 points, while Darryl Marshall followed with 13.
"We talked at halftime how we dropped our intensity," Caruso said of the Aggies allowing MVSU to climb back into the contest. "That's just a lack of focus on our part. We'll take care of that. We're better than that."
A&M overwhelmed MVSU inside, in outscoring the Delta Devils 56-20 in the paint. The 6-foot-9 Roberson, who missed part of preseason camp after he was diagnosed with a rapid heartbeat, made 9 of 12 field goals and collected a game-high 10 rebounds, posting his second consecutive double-double to start the season.
"He's a load to guard," Potts said.
Jones left the game late with what Kennedy dubbed a sprained ankle, and Kennedy said his status moving forward is to be determined.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/kourtney-roberson-scores-career-high-24-points-as-texas-am-runs-away-from-mvsu-91-67