No. 16 Texas A&M (4-0) was given its toughest challenge yet Tuesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn against Penn State (5-1), yet the Aggies still etched a double-digit victory to claim the Legends Classic title with a 98-87 win over the Nittany Lions.
Senior guard Duane Wilson led the Aggies with 22 points, scoring nine-straight at one point in the second half as part of a run that put A&M ahead by as many as 17 with 12:10 to go.
Persistent press from PSU caused a multitude of A&M turnovers down the stretch which allowed the Nittany Lions to reach within five, 77-72, at the 5:46 mark.
That’s as close as PSU would get though, as the Aggies tightened up their offense and capitalized on a frenzy of fouls, going 9-of-11 from the free throw line in the final five minutes. A&M was 26-of-29 for the game from the charity stripe.
Robert Williams came off the bench for the second-straight game, but was even better offensively than his season-debut the night before, scoring 21 points. The sophomore forward was just shy of a double-double, but had a team-high nine rebounds
Three other Aggies scored in double-figures, led by junior center Tyler Davis, who had 15 and scored the Aggies first seven points of the night. Admon Gilder had 14 of his own and Tonny Trocha-Morelos added 11.
PSU’s sophomore guard Tony Carr had a terrific night, dropping 31 points on 11-of-20 shooting, while sophomore forward Lamar Stevens scored 25 of his own.
The Aggies took a slim 42-40 lead into intermission, as the first half was a back-and-forth affair with seven ties and 12 lead changes with the largest lead being five points.
A&M returns to action this Friday when the Aggies host Pepperdine at 7 p.m.