HOUSTON — In front of a raucous crowd supporting a charity exhibition match benefitting the victims of Hurricane Beryl, the fourth-ranked Houston Cougars took down the No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies, 79-64.
In a game supporting more than hoops, the relationship between Buzz Williams and Kelvin Sampson also goes beyond basketball.
“Coach (Sampson) is one of my few heroes,” Williams remarked. “I called him shortly after (last season’s NCAA tournament game)…and it turned into this.”
Instead of beaming about his team, which certainly looked the part of a Final Four contender, the Houston head man highlighted the true purpose of the evening.
“There were some people who lost power for 4-5 days,” Sampson said. “Lots of people don’t have much money. They lost their food. I was so appreciative of the crowd today. The money went to the victims of Hurricane Beryl. I want to draw attention to that. I want to thank our fans and Texas A&M’s fans for coming today. We were able to help a lot of people today.”
With the proceeds going to those in need, this event was a win before either team stepped on the court.
A year ago, the Aggies lost an exhibition game against Texas Tech before the season opener and were hoping to change that trend on Sunday afternoon in an exhibition at the Fertitta Center.
Still, lessons were learned and temperatures taken.
“I think it’s a great barometer,” Williams said. “It gives you a true temperature of what is required to do it at the highest level.”
The barometer was turned up from the opening tip-off, and the Aggies were unable to control the pressure.
Williams was without two starters on Sunday as both Solomon Washington and Zhuric Phelps sat out for precautionary reasons.
They could’ve played, but it was my decision relative to their health and well-being going forward,” the Aggie coach explained.
In the blink of an eye, the Coogs jumped out to an 8-0 lead and sent the building into a frenzy.
Three-point defense once again plagued Williams’ group, as the Cougars started 5-for-8 behind the arc in the first eight minutes and finished 14-for-31 on the night.
LJ Cryer terrorized the Aggies again, knocking down six triples in 23 minutes to finish with 18 points. That wasn’t the only déjà vu moment, as A&M once again struggled to penetrate Houston’s physical defense and were outrebounded 40-29.
Right before halftime, the Aggies turned up the pressure, holding Houston to just six points in the last six minutes to close the gap to ten at the half.
But whatever momentum was taken into the break was lost with another slow start to the second half as Houston went on an 11-4 run to put the game out of reach.
The suffocating defense forced A&M into 27.8 percent from 3-point range, and even the free ones weren’t free as the Maroon & White shot 67.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Usually dominant on the glass, A&M’s rebounding percentage dipped to just 32 percent compared to Houston’s 50 percent. The Aggies won’t play another defense like this one all year unless the NCAA decides to match these two familiar foes up in the tournament again.
Cryer, Emanuel Sharp and J’Wan Roberts returning for another season proves why this Houston team deserves its No. 4 ranking. The three-headed monster of returners combined for 36 points and paced the Cougars all afternoon.
Even in the 15-point loss, there were some positives for A&M.
While the stat sheet won’t show it, Pharrel Payne was a much-needed addition to the frontcourt. His physicality immediately upgrades that position.
Redshirt freshman Rob Dockery showed some flashes off the bench, adding seven points and nine rebounds. True freshman Chris McDermott returned to his home city and brought a spark late in the game with four points and four rebounds. With the return of Washington and Phelps looming, this pair of newcomers made a noticeable effort to carve out a role on this roster.
Wade Taylor IV led the way with 18 points but turned the ball over six times against a ferocious Cougar defense that blitzed his screens, face-guarded him and unleashed Cryer and Sharp on him on every possession.
Sampson made it a priority to stop the preseason first-team All-SEC pick.
“He makes every coach he plays against hold their breath when he gets going,” Sampson said. “You just never know when he’s going to make eight in a row.”
If Taylor struggles to make eight in a row, they’ll need someone else to step up.
Manny Obaseki’s 11 second-half points were promising, but they’ll need a more complete all-around effort when the season begins for real.
A&M’s 2024-25 campaign begins at UCF on Nov. 4.
