Zhuric Phelps scored 16 points to lead a balanced offensive attack as No. 23 Texas A&M rolled to an easy 97-71 victory over visiting Lamar on Monday in College Station, Texas.
The Aggies (2-1) took charge with a 15-point run that began about three minutes into the game and never looked back, riding torrid 3-point shooting to expand their advantage to 21 points at halftime.
Texas A&M continued its dominance, doubling up Lamar leading by 31 at 62-31 early in the second half, and going up by as many as 38 points before cruising to the finish with the starters on the bench over the final eight minutes.
Andersson Garcia and Wade Taylor IV added 15 points each for Texas A&M, which produced the 350th win in coach Buzz Williams’ career. Henry Coleman III had 13 points. Phelps chipped in seven assists and three steals, and Garcia collected nine rebounds.
Lamar’s Alexis Marmolejos led all scorers with 23 points, while Ja’Sean Jackson had 15 and Andrew Holifield added 13.
The Cardinals (1-1) burst out of the gate, scoring the game’s first five point and still leading 7-3 lead when Holifield hit a jumper at the 17:21 mark. Texas A&M responded in a huge way, hitting three 3-pointers during a 15-0 run over the ensuing five minutes to go up 18-7.
A 3-pointer by Hayden Hefner with 10:18 to play in the half stoked the Aggies lead to 14 points.
Lamar culled its deficit to 33-25 when Marmolejos produced a three-point play with 6:25 left, but that seemed to reignite Texas A&M’s fire. The Aggies quickly forged a 12-2 run, and after two more layups and a free throw by Coleman, carried a 50-29 advantage to the break.
Marmolejos’s 14 points led all scorers in the half while Garcia had 11. Texas A&M went 10 of 17 on its shots beyond the arc while shooting 56.7 percent from the floor.
The Aggies outscored Lamar 12-2 over the first 3:37 of the second half and expanded their advantage to 71-33 after a Phelps dunk with 14:31 to play.
–Field Level Media
