COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M men’s basketball team rides a sharp-shooting performance from guards Wade Taylor IV and CJ Wilcher to cruise their way to win No. 11.
On Saturday afternoon, the Aggies (11-2) took care of business in their final non-conference matchup of the season ahead of their big in-state battle against the Texas Longhorns Saturday.
A&M beat Abilene Christian (8-6) 92-54, with its largest leading swelling to 38 late in the second half to capture their seventh win in a row. The Aggies capitalized by shooting well behind the arc while their usual suffocating defense was too much for the outmatched Wildcats.
A&M is ranked 13th in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and in the Associated Press Top 25. ACU was not ranked in either poll coming into the matchup.
Taylor led the Aggies, finishing the afternoon with 15 points while shooting 4-of-8 from the field. Welcher added 14 points shooting 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line..
Wildcats’ guard Quion Williams led ACU with 14 points, shooting 5-for-10 from the field while collecting four rebounds.
The Aggies outshot the Wildcats, finishing 31-for-53, compared to the ACU’s 19-for-52, while A&M also led the rebound battle 41 to 20.
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It was all Aggies in the first half, benefitting from a sharp shooting half from beyond the arch as Wilcher led the way with 12 points en route to a 48-29 lead at the break. Garcia added 10 points and three rebounds, helping A&M dominate the boards 18 to 11 in the opening half.
A&M shot 4-of-8 from 3-point range as a team, with all four makes coming from Wilcher while shooting 16-for-26 from the field.
The Wildcats, led by forward Leonardo Bettiol, finished the half with seven points, five of which came from the free-throw line.
The Aggies started the game on a 9-0 run, aided by Henry Coleman’s seven points before the Wildcats cut into the deficit and went into the third television timeout with A&M holding a slight 16-12 lead. The Aggies held a slight shooting advantage, making 6-of-11 shots from the field, while ACU made 5-of-11.
From there, the Aggies went on a 14-0 run, aided by Wilcher’s three consecutive 3-pointers, pushing their lead to 30-14 with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half.
A&M continued to control the tempo of the first half, pushing their lead to 38-23 with 3:34 left in the first half. Shooting 14-for-22 from the field to this point has led to a 15-point lead and saw their lead balloon as high as 18 points in the half.
Next for the basketball team is a matchup Jan. 4 against Texas.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M basketball: Aggies basketball shoots their way to 11th win
