Friday, November 11
Bryan-College Station
7:00 PM
Texas A&M
2-0,0-0SEC
77
vs
58
ACU
1-1,0-0WAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abilene Christian | 29 | 29 | 58 |
| Texas A&M | 34 | 43 | 77 |
• Junior Henry Coleman III recorded his sixth career double-double finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies Use Strong Second Half to Overpower Wildcats
Nov 11, 2022 | Men's Basketball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M men's basketball team used a strong second half to overpower the ACU Wildcats, 77-58, on Friday at Reed Arena. With the win, the Aggies improved to 2-0 while ACU fell to 1-1.
Holding a five-point advantage at the break, the Aggies out-scored the Wildcats, 43-29, in the second half to put the game away. The Aggies heated up as sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV hit his first five shots and was perfect from the line to provide the spark. He finished with 21 points with 19 coming after the break. Graduate transfer Dexter Dennis also shined in the second half as he hit 4-of-5 shots with two 3-pointers.
Three other Aggies joined Taylor in double figures with Dennis, graduate Tyrece Radford and junior Henry Coleman III chipping in 13 points. Coleman pulled down 11 rebounds to tally his first double-double of the season and sixth of his career. The big man also led the way with a team-high four steals.
The Aggies connected on 52% of their field goal attempts (23-44) and scored 25 points from the free throw line while hitting 71% from the charity stripe. Texas A&M scored 34 points off 21 ACU turnovers, and limited the Wildcats to 38% shooting from the field.
The Aggies return to action next week at the Myrtle Beach Invitational on the campus of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C. Texas A&M faces Murray State in the opening round at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17. The matchup will be televised by ESPN2.
Texas A&M Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 77, ACU 58
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
Buzz Williams
On the test from ACU…
"It was a really good game. I have great respect for Coach Tanner and how they operate. Their defense is built on the same premise as ours. They're the 15thwinningest program since 2018 and they're probably not the team you want to play in a guaranteed game. It was a good test, after what we learned from them last year, I felt that it was the right decision to play them again."
On the trajectory of the program…
"I'm excited about the togetherness of the program, and the transparency and translation between the players and the coaches. There is a synergy that's happening at a very fast rate after the completion of one week in the season. Our guys have been so receptive to what we coaches are teaching them. They are doing a near perfect job in coaching one another, which holds the coaches more accountable. There's joy that's happening amidst the group. They cherish the opportunity to work together. There's not a lot to quantify that; there's not a stat for that. But the joy that comes from that is going to be special."
Sophomore Guard Wade Taylor
On big three-pointers at the beginning of the second half…
"It gave us a lot of good energy. We have this thing called an eight-minute break where the last four minutes of the first half and the last four minutes, and we lost the last four so we had to come out in the second half with a better job. Javonte Brown and I were talking at halftime with him saying 'you got to get us a spark' so that [early three-pointers] started the spark and I looked at him and said 'I appreciate that.' Going out and not settling for anything. Just going head-on."
Junior Forward Henry Coleman
On scoring more points in the paint…
"I trust coach and the staff with what they do. They study film at a high level. We have arguably the best staff in the country. Day in and day out they're here some days six to ten putting in long days so they put together a great gameplan knowing we had to score inside first. The coaches have an unbelievable work ethic as they've been able to put plans in place for us to be successful so credit to them."
Victory ?? pic.twitter.com/m8tydubNTG
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) November 12, 2022
Three other Aggies joined Taylor in double figures with Dennis, graduate Tyrece Radford and junior Henry Coleman III chipping in 13 points. Coleman pulled down 11 rebounds to tally his first double-double of the season and sixth of his career. The big man also led the way with a team-high four steals.
Game: Aggies ?? pic.twitter.com/uOB1ZiPfxL
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) November 12, 2022
The Aggies connected on 52% of their field goal attempts (23-44) and scored 25 points from the free throw line while hitting 71% from the charity stripe. Texas A&M scored 34 points off 21 ACU turnovers, and limited the Wildcats to 38% shooting from the field.
The Aggies return to action next week at the Myrtle Beach Invitational on the campus of Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C. Texas A&M faces Murray State in the opening round at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17. The matchup will be televised by ESPN2.
Texas A&M Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 77, ACU 58
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M defeated the ACU Wildcats 77-58 Friday night to win its 20th
consecutive non-conference game at Reed Arena. - The Maroon & White won its seventh straight game at Reed Arena,
dating back to a 56-55 win over Florida on February 15, 2022. - The Aggies are 7-0 against the Wildcats.
- Head coach Buzz Williams improved his non-conference win record at
Reed Arena to 26-2. - The Aggies shot 53% (23-for-44) from the field, the second straight
game with a shooting percentage of 50 or higher. - The Maroon & White outrebounded the Wildcats 35-24.
- Texas A&M scored 34 points off turnovers, 30 points in the paint and
added 15 points off the fast break. - Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Dexter Dennis,
Wade Taylor IV, Solomon Washington, Henry Coleman III and Tyrece
Radford for the second time this season (2-0).
- Junior Henry Coleman III recorded his sixth career double-double
finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds. He nearly did it in the first
half with nine points and nine rebounds. The Richmond, Virginia, native
tallied double-digit rebounds for the seventh time in his career. - Sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV led the Aggies in points (21) for the
second consecutive game this season, finishing in double figures for
the 16th time in his career. The Dallas, Texas, native, also surpassed
100 career free throws attempts, now up to 107. Taylor went a perfect
8-8 at the charity stripe. - Graduate transfer Dexter Dennis recorded his 400th career defensive
rebound. Dennis also logged 13 points. - Tyrece Radford was the fourth Aggie to finish in double figures with 13
points. The senior guard also hauled in eight rebounds.
Buzz Williams
On the test from ACU…
"It was a really good game. I have great respect for Coach Tanner and how they operate. Their defense is built on the same premise as ours. They're the 15thwinningest program since 2018 and they're probably not the team you want to play in a guaranteed game. It was a good test, after what we learned from them last year, I felt that it was the right decision to play them again."
On the trajectory of the program…
"I'm excited about the togetherness of the program, and the transparency and translation between the players and the coaches. There is a synergy that's happening at a very fast rate after the completion of one week in the season. Our guys have been so receptive to what we coaches are teaching them. They are doing a near perfect job in coaching one another, which holds the coaches more accountable. There's joy that's happening amidst the group. They cherish the opportunity to work together. There's not a lot to quantify that; there's not a stat for that. But the joy that comes from that is going to be special."
Sophomore Guard Wade Taylor
On big three-pointers at the beginning of the second half…
"It gave us a lot of good energy. We have this thing called an eight-minute break where the last four minutes of the first half and the last four minutes, and we lost the last four so we had to come out in the second half with a better job. Javonte Brown and I were talking at halftime with him saying 'you got to get us a spark' so that [early three-pointers] started the spark and I looked at him and said 'I appreciate that.' Going out and not settling for anything. Just going head-on."
Junior Forward Henry Coleman
On scoring more points in the paint…
"I trust coach and the staff with what they do. They study film at a high level. We have arguably the best staff in the country. Day in and day out they're here some days six to ten putting in long days so they put together a great gameplan knowing we had to score inside first. The coaches have an unbelievable work ethic as they've been able to put plans in place for us to be successful so credit to them."
Team Stats
ACU
TA&M
FG%
.385
.523
3FG%
.444
.375
FT%
.833
.714
RB
24
35
TO
21
19
STL
11
11
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
8
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
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