After suffering a heart-breaking loss to Dayton on Thursday, the Texas A&M men’s basketball team rallied late to defeat the College of Charleston 59-50 in Fridays Puerto Rico Tip-Off matchup in Coliseo Roberto Clemente.
In the first half, Texas A&M shot a miserable 25-percent from the field on 6-24 shooting and trailed Charleston 20-26 at the half.
Head coach Billy Kennedy said that his team struggled offensively, but that the pace of play and his team’s depth were why they were able to pull out the win.
“I think it was hard to score and I think both of us had tough, hard-fought games yesterday that took a little bit out of us,” Kennedy said. “Fortunately in the second half, our depth was a big key that helped us work through the fatigue and get the win. We played with good energy but offensively we are just struggling to find a way to score. Charleston guarded the ball screens a little bit different than we have seen all year and that created some problems for us, especially in the first half.”
Both teams finished the game shooting 36.7-percent from the field but the Aggies made a surge in the final 2:17 to close out the game on an 11-4 run. Texas A&M spread the floor well in the second half and made all 10 of their free throws in the final eight minutes.
Freshman guard Peyton Allen has been pleasant surprise for the Aggies this year with his ability to consistently get open and make shots. Allen scored 14 points on 5-10 shooting from the field against Charleston — knocking down 2 shots from behind the three-point line.
Senior guard Jordan Green and junior forward Jalen Jones both scored in double figures.
Green — who struggled scoring last season — scored all of his 11 points in the second half and pulled down six rebounds.
Jones shot the ball a lot in Friday’s matchup, only coming up with 12 points on 14 attempts. However, he was very productive on the boards, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds and notching his first double-double as an Aggie.
Charleston head coach Earl Grant said that his decision making late in the game and Jordan Green coming out strong in the second half are the reasons for his team’s defeat on Friday.
“There were a few key turnovers down the stretch that really hurt us,” Grant said. “And I thought there were a few decisions that I made in the last seven minutes that kind of cost us as well. I think [Jordan Green] came out with nine points in the last four minutes after not scoring yesterday. Some of it was in transition and they would get it to him and he got free two or three times for a layup and one was a tip. It’s just one of those things that happens in a game.”
Billy Kennedy and the Aggies also received some good news on Friday about the status of a recent transfer player. The NCAA ruled junior guard and Houston transfer Danuel House eligible to compete with the Aggies this season and will suit up for Sunday’s contest.
“I’m excited about adding another good piece to our team” Kennedy said. “Danuel brings experience and a scorer to our roster. We are thankful to the NCAA and the A&M Compliance for helping us get this wrapped up and taken care of.”
The Aggies will face the winner of the New Mexico/George Mason matchup on Sunday at 3 p.m