News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – Graduate guard Hayden Hefner poured in a season-high 19 points to power the No. 12 Texas A&M men’s basketball team to a 77-4 victory over the HCU Huskies in the annual Fan Appreciation Game on Friday at Reed Arena.
Hefner, from Nederland, Texas, hit 7-of-13 shots, including a trio of treys, as the Aggies won their sixth straight game. With the win, the Aggies improved to 10-2 heading into the team’s final non-conference tune-up against Abilene Christian on Dec. 28. It’s the first time the Aggies have reached 10 wins before the Christmas break since 2017-18.
In addition to Hefner’s scoring outburst, the Aggies got double digit efforts from Manny Obaseki (13 points), Zhuric Phelps (10) and Pharrel Payne (10).
The Aggies shot 47.1% for the game, including a hot 55.6% in the second half to log their first 30-point margin of victory this season. The defense was on-point throughout the game as the Aggies allowed 45 or fewer points for the second time this season. It was the first time the Aggies have had two defensive games of 45 or fewer since 2016.
Led by Solomon Washington’s game-high 11 rebounds, the Aggies had more than twice as many rebounds as the Huskies, 52-25, and earned 20 offensive boards. Their work on the offensive glass led to big advantages in second-chance points (23-6) and points in the paint (50-20).
The Aggies played without the services of All-America guard Wade Taylor IV, who wasn’t in the starting lineup for the first time since Feb. 19, 2022 vs. Vanderbilt and missed the first game of his career after leaving the Purdue game with an injury. Obaseki started in Taylor’s place and dished out a game-high four assists.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Buzz Williams
On Pharrel Payne’s presence recently….
I think he was much more aggressive. Any time a player performs well it gives them some level of confidence and I thought he had it and I told him that a couple of times today. I thought he had that same level of ferocity in how he was chasing after the ball. We must improve defensively on the glass as a team, and he’s one of the few that can help move the needle on that.
On leading the country in offensive rebounds….
It was 54% today and we played without arguably one of the better rebounders in the world. It’s been an evolution. I don’t necessarily think that we’re doing anything different than other coaches. I think it evolved during our tenure here and just to be forthright, I would say it’s been the niche that we’ve been able to create that gives us a chance to have a chance. We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time in prioritizing the language we give, the responsibilities, the clips that we watched, the scouting that we do, not only on us but on the opponent.”
Graduate Guard Hayden Hefner
On support from teammates and moving forward after the strong performance…
“I’m absolutely going to build upon this. I had guys like Manny [Obaseki], Zhuric [Phelps], Henry [Coleman III], and Wade [Taylor IV] on the bench giving me some words of encouragement. Hearing that from your teammates and compounding it with what your coaches are telling you it’s hard not to [keep moving forward].”
Senior Guard Manny Obaseki
On the message at halftime…
“To be honest, we came out a little flat [at the beginning of the game]. We knew that Buzz [Williams] wasn’t happy with how we were playing. I think it speaks to our maturity with how we responded. We came out strong in the second half playing hard and playing together.”