LAS VEGAS (AP) — Guard Quenton Jackson scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half and Texas A&M ran past Notre Dame 73-67 in the final game at the Maui Invitational on Wednesday night.
Hassan Diarra and Wade Taylor IV, also in reserve, scored 17 and 14 points respectively for the Aggies (6-1).
Despite Texas A&M’s deep-bench advantage, the Aggies missed 15 of 29-foul shot attempts allowing the Irish to stay close. Notre Dame (3-2) couldn’t capitalize as it failed to score a field goal in almost nine minutes at the end.
Tyrece Radford’s layup at 8:18 before halftime brought the Aggies within 15-13 but Notre Dame went on to outscore Texas A&M 17-9 before intermission and built a 32-22 lead.
Blake Wesley’s 3-pointer gave Notre Dame a 41-27 lead three minutes into the second half before the Aggies applied defensive pressure, turned the Irish over and proceeded to outscore them 27-13 over the next nine minutes.
Diarra made two foul shots, Jackson made a layup with 7:20 left for a 57-54 lead and the Aggies never trailed again.
Twelve players hit the floor for the Aggies and Notre Dame used seven in its rotation. The Irish committed 18 turnovers.
Dane Goodwin scored 18 for Notre Dame.
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 73, Notre Dame 67
Michelob Ultra Arena (Las Vegas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M improved to 6-1 on the year after defeating Notre Dame, 73-67.
- Texas A&M’s all-time record at the Maui Invitational is 3-3.
- The Aggies’ all-time record against Notre Dame moves to 1-0.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies recorded their largest comeback victory in Buzz Williams era after erasing Notre Dame’s 14-point lead with 16:40 remaining in the game. The win was the largest comeback victory since the Aggies came back from 17 points down against Virginia Tech on Nov. 25, 2016.
- In the second half, the Aggies shot 66.7-percent (18-of-27) from the field, marking their highest field goal percentage in a half under head coach Buzz Williams.
- Texas A&M limited the Fighting Irish to 23.1-perecent (6-of-26) from 3-point range. For the season, the Maroon & White are holding opponents to 27.1 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks third in the SEC and 64th in the country.
- The Aggies doubled up Notre Dame in points off turnovers (16-8) and points in the paint (40-20).
- Texas A&M had 60 points off the bench to Notre Dame’s 13.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Javonte Brown, Henry Coleman III, Andre Gordon, Tyrece Radford and Marcus Williams for the fourth time this season (5-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Quenton Jackson led the team in scoring with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and was tied for the team lead with four assists. Jackson has scored in double figures in the last five games.
- Hassan Diarra scored a career-high 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting and was 7-of-11 from the charity stripe.
- Wade Taylor IV matched his season high with 14 points while recording a season-high four steals with a team-high four assists.
- Ethan Henderson matched his career high with two steals.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M returns to Reed Arena on Tuesday for a matchup against New Orleans at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on SEC Network+.