Strong first half propels No. 21 Texas A&M past DePaul

Field Level Media|published: Wed 6th December, 23:25 2023

Dec 6, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies forward Henry Coleman III (15) dunks against the DePaul Blue Demons during the first half at Reed Arena. credits: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Jace Carter scored 14 points and Henry Coleman III collected 13 points and nine rebounds to lift No. 21 Texas A&M to an 89-64 victory over visiting DePaul on Wednesday in College Station, Texas.

Carter sank four 3-pointers after going 4-for-23 from beyond the arc prior to the game.

Wade Taylor IV also drained four 3-pointers and finished with 13 points to help the Aggies (7-2) rebound from a campaign-low 47-point output in a loss to Virginia on Nov. 29.

Hayden Hefner, Bryce Lindsay and Manny Obaseki added 10 points apiece for Texas A&M, which shot a robust 53.0 percent from the floor (35 of 66) and 45.2 percent from beyond the arc (14 of 31). The Aggies did not record a turnover in the first half and finished with just four for the game.

Texas A&M's Tyrece Radford sat out his third straight game due to respiratory issues.

DePaul's Chico Carter Jr. scored 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor — including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Da'Sean Nelson added 13 points for the Blue Demons (1-7), who lost their fifth straight game despite shooting 54.8 percent from the floor (23 of 42) and 50.0 percent from 3-point range (8 of 16).

Texas A&M took control of the game after making 11 3-pointers in the first half to walk away with a 62-30 lead at intermission.

Jace Carter connected four times from deep, Taylor converted twice and Andersson Garcia made his first 3-pointer for the first time this season to give the Aggies a 27-13 lead.

DePaul attempted to rally after Elijah Fisher's dunk with 8:12 remaining in the first half, however Jace Carter's layup ignited a string of 17 straight points by the Aggies. Hefner sank a pair of 3-pointers and Lindsay and Jace Carter each added one more to help Texas A&M claim a 32-point lead at intermission.

The Blue Demons steadily chipped away and trimmed their deficit down to 20 points at 79-59 with 7:37 remaining in the second half. Lindsay halted the momentum with a 3-pointer, and the Aggies were not threatened the rest of the way.

—Field Level Media