Behind Henry Coleman III’s third consecutive double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds), Texas A&M defeated Oral Roberts 74-66 on Friday night.
No. 13 Texas A&M hosted Oral Roberts on Friday night, looking to stay undefeated in the young season after two consecutive road victories over Ohio State and SMU. Despite another poor shooting night from deep (2-22 from 3-point), the Aggies defeated the Golden Eagles 74-66 to remain undefeated.
In three games this season, the Aggies have struggled mightily from beyond the arc, averaging a dismal 29% from three-point. While the defense and senior forward Henry Coleman III’s inside presence has masked their perimeter shooting struggles, these issues continued against the Golden Eagles.
Starting the game 0-8 from three, the elite guard duo of Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford failed to find their shot early, as Coleman led the Aggies with 13 points off a perfect 5-5 from the field, including five rebounds, continuing his dominance in the paint while once again kept A&M in the game.
Oral Roberts, a team that plays inside out with an emphasis on perimeter shooting success, shot 50% from the field and 41.7% from three (5-12), yet the Aggies’ size continued to overwhelm their offensive rhythm late in the half, as A&M out-rebounded the visitors 22-10 (11 offensive rebounds) going into halftime.
Recording three early steals, Wade Taylor led the momentum push with just a few minutes remaining, leading to a mini offensive surge coupled with efficiency (10-13 FT) from the charity stripe ( to take a semi-comfortable 38-31 halftime lead.
Texas A&M’s size differential continued to wreak havoc on the boards, providing the offense multiple possessions after nearly every miss. Still, none of that mattered as the Golden Eagles continued to shoot their way back into the game, going on a mini 7-4 run to get within four points, while the Aggies stood 0-13 from three before Tyrece Radford finally nailed a corner three from deep to stop the bleeding.
However, Radford’s three woke up the Aggie offense, their largest lead at 54-41 with 11 minutes to play. Still, outside of a quick five-point spurt, A&M’s offense continued to falter down the stretch, providing Oral Roberts plenty of opportunities to shoot their way back into the game.
Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams stuck to his game plan and went back to emphasizing Coleman in the low post, as the senior recorded his third straight double-double, staying perfect from the field with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while he and guard Hayden Hefner (6 points, five rebounds, three assists) the Aggies back to a 62-53 lead with just over three minutes left in regulation.
Still hanging around, Oral Roberts stayed on A&M’s heels due to continued poor shooting, as the Aggie’s once substantial lead dwindled to a 66-60 advantage at the one-minute mark, but as we’ve witnessed all season, this team has been organized and highly efficient in the final seconds, as Radford, emulating Troy Aikman, threw a perfect inbound pass to Wade Taylor for an easy layup to take a 68-60 advantage.
Credit to Golden Eagles guard Issac McBride for keeping Oral Roberts within range late, scoring a game-high 27 points, but in the end, the foul game ensued, and four free throws from Henry Coleman and reserve forward Andersson Garcia sealed the close victory for the A&M squad that is now 4-0 on the season before heading next week’s ESPN Invitational in an NCAA Tournament rematch vs. Penn State.
GAME NOTES:
- Free throw shooting continued to push the Aggie forward (20-24, 83.3%)
- Perimeter shooting has continued to hinder the offense from reaching its full potential (2-22, 9.1%)
Below are the Aggie critical contributors from the game:
Wade Taylor IV: 16 points / 4 assists / 4 rebounds
Henry Coleman III: 19 points (7-7 FG) / 10 rebounds
Tyrece Radford: 11 points / 4 assists / 5 rebounds
Henry Coleman: 13 points / 2 assists / 15 rebounds
Texas A&M will head to Orlando, Florida, for the ESPN Invitational next Thursday in a rematch vs. Penn State. The game will air on ESPN at 11:00 a.m. CT.
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