Texas A&M Drops Exhibition to Texas, 73-69

(Source: Texas A&M Athletics)

HOUSTON – The Texas A&M men’s basketball team lost a hard-fought exhibition contest against Texas, 73-69, Wednesday night in Houston at Rice’s Tudor Fieldhouse. The match-up was organized between Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy and Texas head coach Shaka Smart to benefit Rebuild Texas, an organization committed to helping Texas recover from the effects of Hurricane Harvey.

The Maroon & White struggled shooting the ball early against the Horns’ pressure defense, as the Aggies shot 8-for-32 in the first half and trailed 40-27 at the break. Texas A&M rebounded in the second half to outscore Texas 42-33 after the intermission. Texas A&M was able to get to the charity stripe 35 times on the night, converting 25 free throws.

The Aggies were paced by senior Tonny Trocha-Morelos in scoring as the Cartagena, Colombia, native poured in 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting including a 3-for-4 mark behind the arc. Sophomore Robert Williams added a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 15 rebounds while junior Tyler Davis scored in double-figures with 16 points.

A compliment of Aggies donned the Maroon & White for the first-time as senior transfer Duane Wilson drew the start and the freshman group of Jay Jay Chandler, T.J. Starks, Savion Flagg and Isiah Jasey combined to play 51 minutes. The Aggies used a starting lineup of Wilson, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg, Williams and Davis.

All proceeds from Wednesday’s game will go directly to the Rebuild Texas Relief Fund (https://www.rebuildtx.org). The Rebuild Texas Fund was created to support the long-term rebuilding efforts in communities across Texas devastated by Hurricane Harvey.

The Aggies will celebrate the upcoming 2017-18 season on Thursday night at Reed Arena as they host Maroon Madness in conjunction with the Texas A&M women’s basketball team at 7:30 p.m. Featured at the event, which is free to attend, will be introductions of both teams, a dunk contest featuring the top athletes on the men’s squad judged by the women’s team, a 3-point shootout between members of both teams and a performance by Acrodunk from America’s Got Talent.

The final dress rehearsal for the team will come Nov. 3 during a home exhibition vs. Tarleton State. The campaign will begin in earnest on Nov. 10 when Texas A&M travels to Ramstein Air Base in Germany to face West Virginia during the 2017 Armed Forces Classic.

Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy and center Tonny Trocha-Morelos

 

Texas head coach Shaka Smart, guard Kerwin Roach, forward Mohamed Bamba and guard Andrew Jones

 

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

More News