CHICAGO – Texas A&M’s Tyrece “Boots” Radford poured in a career-high 31 points and Wade Taylor IV chipped in 21 points and a career-high six steals to lead the Aggies to an 82-66 road victory over DePaul on Friday at Wintrust Arena.
The Aggies tallied their second straight victory and improved to 4-2, while the Blue Demons were handed their third-straight defeat and fell to 3-3.
Radford, a graduate guard from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had 15 points by halftime and added 16 after the break to become the Aggies’ first 30-point scorer since Quentin Jackson had 31 vs. Georgia on Feb. 22, 2022. He connected on 8-of-11 field goals attempts, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point line, and hit 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Taylor came off the bench for his season-high 21 points as he connected on 7-of-14 shots and was perfect form the charity stripe (4-4).
Also in double figures was junior Henry Coleman III, who contributed 12 points and a career-high six assists. In the game, Coleman hit the 500-point and 300-rebound plateaus for his career.
The Aggies connected on 45.5% of their field goal attempts for the game and hit seven 3-pointers as a team as they led the Blue Demons from start to finish. The Aggies finished with a 16-point margin of victory after leading by as much as 20 late in the second half.
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 82, DePaul 66
Wintrust Arena (Chicago)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
· Texas A&M defeated DePaul, 82-66, in its first true road game of the season.
· The Aggies improved to 2-0 against the Blue Demons in the all-time series.
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M had seven different players score with five players scoring more than three points.
- The Aggie’s 82 points were the second-most scored this season, with the season-high coming against ULM in the 2022-23 opener with 87 points.
- Texas A&M swatted a season-high four blocks.
- The Maroon & White had two players score 20-or-more points since March 3, 2022, when Quenton Jackson (28) and Tyrece Radford (22) did so against Alabama.
- The Aggies held DePaul to a 33.9% shooting from the floor and 28% from three.
- A&M knocked in seven 3-pointers, tying the second-most this season.
- The Aggies’ 25 free throws tied a season high.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Dexter Dennis, Andersson Garcia, Henry Coleman III, Andre Gordon and Tyrece Radford for the first time this season (1-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Henry Coleman III
- Dished out a career-high six assists, all in the first half.
- Led the team in assists for the third time this season.
- Recorded 12 points, marking the second consecutive game in double figures and the fourth this season.
- With his 12 points and three rebounds, became a 500-point/300-rebound player in 64 games of action.
Dexter Dennis
- Made the 100th start of his career.
- Led the team with a season-high seven rebounds tied with Andersson Garcia.
- Six of his rebounds came on the defensive side.
Andersson Garcia
- Hauled in a season-high seven rebounds.
- Played in his 50th career game.
Manny Obaseki
- Finished with six points, including going 4-4 from the free throw line.
- Dished out three assists and also tallied a block and a steal.
Tyrece Radford
- Registered a career-high 31 points. The last player to score 30-or-more points in a game was Quenton Jackson with 31 points against Georgia on Feb. 12, 2022.
- Went 8-for-11 from shooting, 4-for-5 from behind the arc and 11-for-13 from the free throw line.
- Scored 15 points in the first half and 16 points in the second half.
- Recorded 10-or-more free throws for the second time this season with the last time coming against Murray State on Nov. 17.
- Also added five rebounds, a block and an assist.
- Led the team in points for the second time this season.
Wade Taylor IV
- Recorded a career-high six steals.
- Tallied double digit points for the second consecutive game and fifth of the season after finishing with 21.
- Scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half in 14 minutes of action.
- Registered 20-or-more points for the second time this season.
- Went a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe.
- Dished out a season-high five assists, just an assist shy of his career high.
- With his five assists, became a 400-point/100-assist player in just 46 games played.