The annual Buzz’s Bunch brought smiles and unforgettable moments for the members of coach Buzz William’s nonprofit organization. According to his website, the nonprofit’s goal is to bring together children with disabilities and allow them to fall in love with the game of basketball. Over 500 children and their family members attended the first nationally televised Texas A&M men’s basketball Buzz’s Bunch game against Abilene Christian on Saturday, which saw the Aggies dominate the Wildcats 92-54 to close out its non-conference slate.
The charity was founded during the head coach’s days at Marquette and has continued to operate since, even expanding to the Bryan-College Station area. Before tip-off, a saxophone rendition of the National Anthem was performed by a blind member of the charity.
Aware of his return from injury, Abilene Christian immediately started off on defense with a double team on graduate guard Wade Taylor IV, leaving graduate forward Henry Coleman III in a one-on-one to the basket for his first points.
“It was good to be back,” Taylor said. “It’s a blessing to be here with my teammates. After being out, I feel like I learned to be thankful for everything. I feel like we came out today with a lot of energy. When guys are feeling confident and playing to the best of their abilities, I feel like our ceiling is really high.”
Building on the momentum, A&M strung together a 9-0 run off of a tip-in from graduate G Hayden Hefner and points in the paint from Coleman. However, the turnovers by the Maroon and White eased the Wildcats into a better position after they capitalized on all four.
Coming into the bout as an upper elichon team in rebounding, the Fightin’ Farmers once again showcased their specialty against ACU in the first half, finishing with 18 to the Wildcats’ 11.
Shooting the three hasn’t been an A&M speciality in the past, but times are changing — and so is Buzz’s offense. Much of the new-look offense is thanks to players like Nebraska transfer and graduate G CJ Wilcher, who has shot only one 2-pointer this season compared to 39 3-pointers leading up to Saturday’s game. The New Jersey native has earned a rebuttable resume at shooting the long ball in his collegiate career, and his 103 3-pointers off the bench over the past three seasons ranks No. 7 among all DI players.
Wilcher had a problem with the Aggies’ 3-point percentage going into the final 10 minutes of the half — a glaring 0% — so he changed that by knocking down four straight 3-pointers to put A&M up by 16.
“This is probably the most connected program I’ve ever been a part of,” Wilcher said. “From staff to staff, player to staff, player to player, player to manager — everybody is on the same page, and if we’re not we point it out. And that is one thing that I value. I try to meet that standard every day.”
Performance in the final six minutes turned choppy with three back-to-back Maroon turnovers, allowing the Wildcats to gain a foothold in the difference. Despite the mistakes, the Aggies continued to pound the paint and extend the growing lead with senior F Andersson Garcia laying-in two buckets and Taylor making one.
Sloppy fouls on the A&M side allowed ACU junior F Leonardo Bettiol to shoot five free throws on his way to a seven-point finish for the half. The lopsided game didn’t even out despite the chances provided to the Wildcats, as the Aggies continued to attack the rim, earning six additional points off free-throws on the way to a 48-29 lead at the half.
Eight of the 11 Fightin’ Farmers who entered the court had scored going into the second half, making it near impossible for the Wildcats to know who was going to get the rock next. Building on the uncertainty, Wilcher and Taylor took advantage by finishing with 14 and 15, respectively, to lead all A&M players.
Turnovers were a thorn in ACU’s offensive side as the Maroon lead jumped to 38 points after forcing 21 turnovers, the most since A&M’s 2022 season.
Showing off a different side of his offensive production, Wilcher made his second overall 2-point FG of the season after taking advantage of a wary Wildcat defense.
The Aggies took the game 92-54 in complete dominant fashion, outrebounding ACU in the process 41 to 20.
Next, A&M faces rival Texas for the first time in over five years at Reed Arena on Jan. 4. at 7 p.m. on SECN for the hoops version of the Lone Star Showdown.
