Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ST. LOUIS — Coming off a Cayman Islands Classic championship, the Aggies won their fifth straight after beating Saint Louis on the road 81-76 Tuesday evening.
The Aggies watched their 20-point lead shrink to just 3 points in the final minutes of the game. But after two free throws from Darius Brown and a block from Great Osobor, the Aggies sealed the win.
"I didn't think we responded until the very last possession," Aggies coach Danny Sprinkle said. "They made some tough shots, like, you've got to give them credit. But we've got to be a lot stronger with the ball. We can't turn the ball over."
Offensively, Osobor led the charge all evening for the Aggies with 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting with 13 rebounds. He sat out for just four minutes of the game. He now averages a double-double of 21.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
"He dominated down low," Sprinkle said. "In zone or man, he's such a big body and he can pass it."
Sprinkle said that with the amount of attention Osobor and Brown draw each game, the Aggies will continue to see wide open 3-point shots. The problem, however, was the team's 3-point accuracy on the evening, shooting just 6-of-23 from beyond the arc; nearly two-thirds of the Aggies' missed shots came from 3-point range.
Should the Aggies find a way to start making some more 3's, Sprinkle said, "it's going to be fun to watch."
From the field, the Aggies shot 57.4% and recorded 35 rebounds, beating Saint Louis' 47.4% shooting and 25 rebounds, and helping them to their first road victory this season.
"To come in here into this setting, to be able to get a win, our first, technically, road win, it meant a lot to us," said Isaac Johnson, who recorded 16 points and missed just two shots all evening. "We can still stay together as a team, stay disciplined, and do what we do and come into any arena and win."
With the win, the Aggies improve to 6-1 and prepare to face UC Irvine at home Saturday evening to try to extend their win streak.
"I'm proud of our guys," Sprinkle said, "When it comes down to the crunch time, I know they're going to find a way to win it, and we did that again. But we've still got to clean some stuff up, execution wise, ball handling wise, if we want to continue to win."
