A 12:15 a.m. local time tip-off resulted in a sleepy start from No. 25 Texas A&M, who on three occasions found themselves trailing No. 11 West Virginia by 13 points in the first half.
But the Mountaineers (0-1) soon fell into a deep slumber, as the Aggies (1-0) raced past WVU, 88-65, playing inside Hangar 5 at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany early Saturday morning.
The trio of Tyler Davis, Admon Gilder and DJ Hogg combined for 64 of the Aggies points. Davis recorded a double-double with game-highs 23 points and 13 rebounds. Gilder and Hogg were pivotal off the bench, scoring 23 and 19 points, respectively.
A&M had a furious finish to the first half going on a 28-9 run, and carried its momentum into the second half, leading by as many as 29 points.
Glass domination and sharp shooting allowed the Aggies to pull away during the final 20 minutes. In the second half, A&M out-rebounded WVU 29-15, and the Mountaineers finished the night 3-of-20 from the field.
Shooting woes by WVU permitted A&M to build the insurmountable 29-point advantage. The Mountaineers had a stretch of 6:39 with no points in the middle of the second half.
Notable was the fact that the Aggies were so dominant in victory over a quality Mountaineer team without star forward Robert Williams and point guard J.J. Caldwell, who both did not travel due to suspension.
‘Press Virginia’ caused havoc for the Aggies early, forcing a multitude of turnovers. When given chances in transition, A&M was unable to finish, missing seven layups in the opening minutes. Shooting struggles were eminent as the Aggies went almost six minutes between making their first two field goals.
WVU began to make mistakes though, with an abundance of fouls and turnovers allowing A&M to jump back into the game. The Aggies ultimately took a 45-38 lead at the break.
Success from the free throw line may have kept A&M in the contest during the first half, as the Aggies were 13-of-17 from the line to the Mountaineers 2-of-5. Bench play was critical too, as Gilder and Hogg did not start following their one-game suspension, but combined for 26 first-half points.
Hogg was on fire, with a game-high 16 points on a team-high 15 minutes in the opening 20 minutes, despite serving as a substitute. In total, the A&M bench outscored WVU’s 31-12 in the first half.
Texas A&M returns to action next Friday as the Aggies host UC-Santa Barbara in their home opener with tip-off slated for 7 p.m.