First rep. First Quadrant 1 victory.
An even bigger first step.
Facing what is a revamped, tougher non-conference schedule, No. 15 Texas A&M (2-0) defeated Ohio State (1-1), 73-66, on Friday night as the Aggies took a big step toward legitimizing their preseason ranking.
Somewhat surprisingly, the trip to Columbus is A&M's first out-of-conference "Quad 1” road win of Buzz Williams' five-year tenure.
The dynamic guard duo of Wade Taylor IV and Tyrece Radford each scored 21 points, while Henry Coleman III enjoyed a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double.
Four of Coleman's points came on crucial free throws with under a minute to play as A&M finished 16-of-23 (69.6 percent) from the line.
The trio of Taylor, Radford and Coleman were required to outwork Bruce Thornton's impressive 24 points. However, Thornton received minimal help as Jamison Battle (10) was the only other Buckeye to reach double figures.
A&M relentlessly outrebounded a much longer Buckeye team, 45-35. They also committed a mere six turnovers.
As it often is for the Aggies, their performance on the offensive glass was the difference.
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With 19 lead changes, the Aggies took control for good on a basket from Wade Taylor with 7:16 remaining in the second.
In an extremely tight battle, A&M turned 16 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points. Ohio State mustered only nine for its 12.
The physical back-and-forth contest broke out almost immediately.
Neither team led by more than seven at any point, and A&M only achieved such a margin on Solomon Washington's free throw with 37 seconds to play.
Despite a close score, the visiting Aggies stayed in front for much of the second half as Taylor's layup with 7:16 remaining broke a 53-53 tie to give A&M the lead for good.
After Oakland seemingly exposed Ohio State's 3-point defense with 14 triples on Monday, A&M connected on just 3-of-18 deep shots.
Fortunately, the Buckeyes were only 4-of-19 on 3-point field goals, and neither team hit from behind the arc in the second half.
A&M carried a slim 34-33 lead into the break following a disjointed opening 20.
That came after Taylor shot just 1-of-9 from the field in the first half. As players of his caliber often do, the SEC's Preseason Player of the Year poured in 14 second-half points and hit a couple of momentum-changing shots to help seal the victory.
Perhaps without the slow start, more of the same will be required from Taylor as A&M's road swing stops in his hometown next week.
The Ags hope to take the next step on Tuesday at SMU.
