Virginia employs balanced attack, stifling defense to derail No. 14 Texas A&M

Field Level Media|published: Wed 29th November, 21:45 2023

Nov 29, 2023; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Wade Taylor IV (4) dribbles the ball as Virginia Cavaliers guard Reece Beekman (2) defends in the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. credits: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew Rohde scored 13 points to lead a balanced offensive attack, but it was defense that made the difference in Virginia's 59-47 win over No. 14 Texas A&M on Wednesday in an ACC/SEC Challenge game in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Reece Beekman, Ryan Dunn and Jacob Groves added 12 points each for Virginia (6-1) and Isaac McKneely hit for 10 points.

The Cavaliers led by one point at halftime but pushed their lead to 41-28 on a layup by Rohde with 14:53 to play. Texas A&M (6-2) swung back, cutting its deficit to five points after a pair of free throws by Wildens Leveque with 9:39 remaining.

But that's as close as the Aggies would get as Virginia pulled away, leading by 14 points after a 3-pointer by Rohde with 5:12 left.

Henry Coleman III scored 16 points, hauled in 14 rebounds and was the only Texas A&M player in double figures. The Aggies, who played without the injured Tyrece Radford, had only one more field goal (17) than turnovers in the loss.

The Cavaliers owned the first eight and half minutes, forging an 18-11 lead after a 3-pointer by Rohde at the 11:39 mark of the first half. Virginia still led by seven when Reece Beekman hit a driving layup with 8:19 remaining before the Aggies responded, reeling off a 12-0 run capped by three free throws by Taylor with 5:08 to play in the half to take a 23-20 advantage.

Virginia tied the game at 24 on a dunk by Beekman with 2 minutes to play before halftime, but the Aggies went back in front on a Coleman layup at the 1:23 mark. Ryan Dunn catapulted the Cavaliers to the lead with a 3-pointer with 17 seconds to play in the half, and Virginia carried a 27-26 advantage to the break.

Coleman led all scorers with 10 points before halftime, while McKneely and Dunn paced the Cavaliers with 8 points each in the first half. Virginia outshot the Aggies 42.3 percent to 37 percent in the half when Texas A&M made just 1 of its final seven shots from the floor.

The Aggies were just 2 of 11 from beyond the arc in the first half, while Virginia did not attempt a free throw over the first 20 minutes of play.

—Field Level Media