Henry Coleman III racked up 27 points in his first game at Texas A&M as the Aggies dominated play in the second half in a 64-46 win over road-weary North Florida on Wednesday in College Station, Texas, in the season-opening contest for the Aggies.
The Aggies were up by four points at the half and by 38-35 three minutes into the second half before producing a 45-37 advantage with 11:57 remaining. From there, A&M stretched its lead to as many 18 points in the stretch run.
North Florida (0-2), which lost at Texas Tech on Tuesday in its season-opener, ran out of gas early in the second half. The Ospreys committed 29 turnovers in the defeat that led to 29 points for Texas A&M.
Marcus Williams, a transfer from Wyoming, added 11 points for the Aggies, who won despite 37 percent shooting. Tyrece Radford pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for Texas A&M.
Carter Hendricksen led North Florida with 14 points, the same amount he scored on Tuesday against Texas Tech.
The Aggies reeled off the game’s first eight points before North Florida rallied to tie things at 13 after a 3-pointer by Hendricksen. The Ospreys eventually took a 23-21 lead after three free throws by Hendricksen at the 6:40 mark. The game was tied at 32 before Texas A&M scored the final four points of the half to take a 36-32 lead at the break.
Coleman III, a transfer from Duke, was on fire in the first half, scoring 19 points with nine of those coming on three-point plays as he attacked the basket. He was 8 for 10 from the floor over the first 20 minutes while his teammates were just 6 of 22.
Hendricksen led the Ospreys with 9 points by halftime.
Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams was not on the bench for the opener. Assistant coach Devin Johnson was in charge on Wednesday night as Williams serves the first of a two-game suspension that will also keep him out on Friday after the Texas A&M basketball program was placed on two years’ probation in August for multiple self-reported NCAA violations.
–Field Level Media
