A&M's first-half flurry buries DePaul early in 89-64 bludgeoning

No. 21 Texas A&M was well-rested and untested on Wednesday night as the Aggies (7-2) stormed to an 89-64 college basketball victory over DePaul (1-7) at Reed Arena.

In their first game in a week, the Aggies — still playing without injured guard Tyrece Radford — rained a deluge of 3-pointers on the overmatched Blue Demons.

A&M converted a season-high 14 goals from 3-point range. There was a lot of participation in the 3-point precipitation as six Aggies connected from behind the arc. Five players hit from there in the first half alone.

As a result, the outcome was settled by halftime, with A&M holding a 62-30 lead at the break.

More than half of A&M’s points came behind the arc. The Aggies equaled their season-high 11 treys in the first half when they shot 61 percent from 3-point range. That’s a far cry from their two previous games, in which they combined to hit just 21.2 percent.

The difference in accuracy may have been the return to Reed Arena.

Or it might also have been a matter of being well-rested.

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Wade Taylor IV had 13 points, including a quartet of 3-point baskets.

The Aggies had a seven-day break after playing four games in seven days in Orlando, Fla. and Charlottesville, Va.

“I didn’t necessarily think we were going to set a school record in regards to percentages and attempts,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “But by the time everybody woke up Monday, I felt like we were coming back to life a little bit.

“I thought that yesterday we were getting real close to getting normal. I thought shoot-around this afternoon was really good.”

A&M’s excellence wasn’t limited to shooting.

The Aggies grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and held a 30-23 advantage on the boards. The Aggies also committed just four turnovers, while forcing 15.

They scored 19 second-chance points and outscored DePaul from the bench 35-21.

Jace Carter scored 14 points to lead six Aggies in double figures. Henry Coleman III was one rebound short of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards.

Wade Taylor IV also had 13 points, while Hayden Hefner, Manny Obaseki and Bryce Lindsay all had 10.

DePaul was led by guard Chico Carter Jr., who had 21 points.

Carter hit four treys in the first half. Taylor, Hefner, Lindsay and Andersson Garcia also connected from long range in the first half. Obaseki added a triple in the second half.

Carter agreed that the rest did wonders for A&M.

“We played eight games last month, and six were on the road,” Carter said. “Just having that week away from playing definitely was beneficial in allowing us to fix some minor injuries we had and getting off your feet.”

The refreshed Aggies started strong and opened a 16-5 lead by the first media time-out. Carter had a pair of 3-pointers, while Taylor and Garcia each had one as A&M immediately established dominance.

The Aggies steadily built on the margin. They took complete control with a 17-0 run in a span of four-and-a-half minutes that staked A&M to an insurmountable 54-24 advantage.

Hefner scored eight points — six on treys — and Coleman had four in that run.

The Aggies didn’t let up. Lindsay hit a triple from the top of the key, and Carter hit one from the corner just before the buzzer to account for their 32-point lead at the break.

“(That’s) just being us,” Carter said. “Not getting satisfied and being unpredictable. Just being us. Knowing how we play. Knowing our individual game. We’re starting to learn how each other plays. When Mo’s (Obaseki) driving, we know he’s going to shoot. When IV does a certain move, we know he’s going to shoot. Just keeping off that and being us, I think, was the best thing for us.”

They didn’t slow down.

Wildens Leveque dunked to open the second half scoring. The Aggies' lead reached as much as 34 points and never dropped to less than 20.

A&M next faces a big game against traditional power Memphis on Sunday. But Obaseki said the Aggies' focus is on themselves more than its opponents.

“We’re not worried about who’s in front of us, who’s ahead of us, who’s behind us,” he said. “We’re focused on just ourselves. I think that’s what’s going to carry us the rest of the season.”