No. 13 Texas A&M needs to continue to grow vs. Lamar

No. 13 Texas A&M will look to continue its accelerated growth path when it squares off against Lamar on Monday in College Station, Texas.

The Aggies (1-1), who sport one of the most experienced teams in the nation, rebounded from a season-opening loss on the road to UCF with a definitive 87-55 victory at home over East Texas A&M on Friday.

Five players scored in double figures for Texas A&M, led by Zhuric Phelps’ 18 points off the bench. Henry Coleman III and Manny Obaseki added 14 points apiece, Hayden Hefner had 13 and Wade Taylor IV hit for 10 for the Aggies in the win.

“There’s a lot of good players on this team,” Obaseki said. “I don’t really find it surprising when I see five, six guys in double figures.”

Texas A&M shot 55.7 percent from the floor while getting 54 points in the paint. The Aggies’ reserves scored 50 of the team’s points. Texas A&M forced 18 turnovers, never trailed in Friday’s game and led by as many as 35 points in the second half as the Aggies bounced back in a big way.

“We have to use our maturity and our experience and our wisdom to our advantage,” Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said after the win. “Our growth rate has to be really fast relative to the schedule we’re going to play.

“Some of the things we practiced, that we’ve shown and that we’ve talked about since Monday night was much more prominent (against East Texas A&M), which is a positive thing.”

The Cardinals (1-0) head to College Station after dismantling NAIA-level opponent Paul Quinn College 113-42 at home in their season opener Nov. 7. Andrew Holifield’s 20 points led a six-pack of Lamar players in double-figure scoring for the Cardinals.

Every player that saw the court for Lamar hit at least one shot from the floor as the Cardinals shot 56.1 percent from the field for the game and 67 percent in the second half. Lamar forced 31 turnovers — 21 of them were steals.

Alexis Marmolejos added 18 points for Lamar, Ja’Sean Jackson had 16, Danquez Dawsey scored 12 and Jayden Barrs and Adam Hamilton hit for 10 points apiece. Errol White took a game-high 14 rebounds for the Cardinals.

Coming off a 19-win season a year ago, the Cardinals have gotten back on the radar as a possible contender in the Southland Conference. They were picked to finish fifth this year, according to the league’s preseason poll.

“We’ve got a good nucleus of returners and newcomers that make our team bigger on the front line,” Lamar coach Alvin Brooks said in the preseason. “Our guard group is better, faster and can score it. As a group collective, we’ll be a better defensive group and it’ll be an exciting team to watch.”

Texas A&M and Lamar have met 15 times with the Aggies holding an 8-7 all-time edge. A&M won the most recent meeting, a 94-60 rout in 2006 in College Station.

–Field Level Media