Ways of old and continued trends were seen in No. 16 Texas A&M’s dominant 72-55 win over Oklahoma State in the Legends Classic Monday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Robert Williams returned from suspension and started strong, with his first four field goals of the game coming in some form of a dunk. For the night, the sophomore forward recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
D.J. Hogg continued his hot streak with a game-high 18 points, which incredibly enough was a season-low total for the junior forward who shot 4-of-7 from behind the arch.
Two other Aggies scored in double-figures, with senior forward Tonny Trocha-Morelos dropping 12 and junior guard Admon Gilder recording 10 points.
OKST pulled within 11 points at the 7:54 mark of the second half, but A&M proceeded to go on a 16-3 run to pull ahead by an insurmountable 24-point advantage at 72-48 with 2:00 to go.
The Aggies were sloppy with the ball, turning it over 19 times, and while the Cowboys turned the A&M miscues into 19 points, OKST shot a mere 29.9 percent from the field.
A tight back-and-forth contest ensued during the first 12 and a half minutes of the game, leading to a 16-16 tie at the 7:22 mark.
A&M would soon break away for good though, outscoring OKST 23-6 to close the opening period to take a 39-22 lead. The Aggies were consistent with a 55.6 shooting percentage, while the Cowboys struggled at times shooting 26.5 percent from the floor.
A&M advances to the championship game of the Legends Classic and will play the winner of Pitt and Penn State Tuesday night at 5 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.