After struggling heavily in the first two rounds of the Myrtle Beach Invitational, No. 24 Texas A&M showed up to play against the Loyola Chicago Ramblers, eking out a 67-51 victory on Sunday, Nov. 20 to improve to 3-2 on the season.
Coach Buzz Williams said that he thinks recently the team had faded away from its identity, which helped contribute to the two-game slide that will likely cost A&M its shiny new ranking in the AP poll. Williams said that this was reflective of him and his ability to coach.
“I think there was subliminal, ‘We think that we’re something that we’re not,’ and we kind of got away — not necessarily in an egotistical way — but we got away from the fight and the tenacity that we have to play with,” Williams said.
Regardless, A&M was able to reestablish itself against Loyola Chicago, but it didn’t come immediately. As was the case in the first pair of games, the Aggies came out slow to start the game, failing to get on the scoreboard for nearly the first two minutes when junior guard Hayden Hefner hit a 3-pointer to get the team on the board.
However, as the Aggies failed to convert on their early shot attempts, sinking just three of their first 10 shots, the defense stayed consistent. The game remained close for the first 10 minutes, but a made 3-pointer from junior guard KK Robinson started a slew of scoring for the maroon and white.
“I just thought that we played the way that we have to play,” coach Buzz Williams said. “I thought we had great energy. I thought our spirit was all going in the same direction.”
After a 10-3 run lifted A&M to a 21-13 lead, the Aggies established a lead they’d never relinquish. With 18 points from the bench unit, none more than junior forward Henry Coleman’s six, the maroon and white were able to take the lead into halftime for the first time in the invitational.
Coming into the second half with a 33-22 lead, the Aggies opened play with a 13-6 run finished off by a steal and fast-break dunk by junior forward Andersson Garcia. This was the key to A&M’s success throughout the game, as the Aggies finished the game with 16 steals and 26 points off of turnovers. Sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV led the game with four steals and had his fourth game this season of 10 or more points.
The bench unit continued to be important for the maroon and white in the second half, as 15 of the 34 second-half points came from the bench. Coleman had a 7-point second half to finish the game as the team’s leading scorer with 13 points. Coleman also added five rebounds, second only behind Garcia’s six, which led the team off the bench as well.
After spending over 33 minutes of game time with the lead, the Aggies pulled away and secured a 16-point victory to snap their two-game losing streak.
A&M will return to the hardwood on Friday, Nov. 25, at noon in Chicago when the Aggies face off with the 3-2 DePaul Blue Demons at the Winstrust Arena.