By: Evan Roberts, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Hassan Diarra scored 16 points, Quenton Jackson added 13 and Texas A&M beat Dallas Christian 102-52 on Monday night.
It was the first time Texas A&M (10-2) has scored 100-plus since topping Savannah State 113-66 on Dec. 13, 2017. The margin of victory against Dallas Christian ranks fifth in program history.
Texas A&M had runs of 18-0 and 22-0 in the first half against Dallas Christian, a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association. The Aggies added a 17-0 spurt in the second half for their largest lead of the game at 59.
The Aggies scored 54 points off of 33 Dallas Christian turnovers, with three steals each from Diarra and Jackson.
Marcus Williams and Aaron Cash each had 11 points for Texas A&M, which is scheduled to play Central Arkansas on Wednesday before opening SEC play against Georgia on Jan. 4.. Hayden Hefner added 10 points.
Nick Erves scored 13 points for Dallas Christian (1-3), which has competed in 12 exhibition games this season. Tyjuan Battles added 10 points.
Twelve of Dallas Christian’s 19 made field goals were from 3-point range.
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 102, Dallas Christian 52
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M defeated Dallas Christian, 102-52, Monday night inside Reed Arena.
- The 50-point margin of victory ties for the fifth-highest in program history.
- A&M improved to 10-2 overall, its best start through 12 games since going 11-1 in 2017-18.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies pressured the Crusaders in to 33 turnovers, the most since forcing 34 against Savannah State on Dec. 17, 2005.
- A&M utilized a 25-2 run beginning at the 15:10 mark of the first half to take a 28-11 lead.
- The Maroon & White took a 54-18 lead into halftime, its largest margin (36) in any half this season.
- A&M’s 54 first-half points were the most scored in a 20-minute period this year.
- The 102-point total from A&M was the first time the Aggies crossed the century mark since recording a 113-66 victory against Savannah State in 2017-18.
- Five Aggies scored in double figures, marking the third time A&M accomplished that feat this season.
- Texas A&M dominated the rebounding battle by a 45-27 margin. The Aggies are 6-0 when out-rebounding their opponent.
- A&M totaled 54 points off turnovers to Dallas Christian’s nine.
- The Maroon & White finished with a 54-12 scoring margin in the paint.
- The Aggies used the starting lineup of Henry Coleman III, Hassan Diarra, Ethan Henderson, Tyrece Radford and Marcus Williams for the second time this season (2-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Hassan Diarra finished with a game-high 16 points and drilled four 3-pointers, a new career high. Diarra added a season-high three steals.
- Wade Taylor IV finished with a game-high six assists and hauled in five rebounds, both career highs.
- Aaron Cash finished as the game’s leading rebounder with eight.
- Hayden Hefner finished with a career-high 10 points and tied his career high in steals with two.
- Quenton Jackson swatted a career-high four blocks.
- Andre Gordon tied his career high in assists with five.
- Aaron Janecek scored his first two career points on an alley-oop dunk from Taylor IV.
- Zach Walker scored his first two points of the season.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M hosts Central Arkansas on Wednesday at Reed Arena at 7 p.m.
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M
Head Coach Buzz Williams
Opening Statement…
“I thought that Tuesday, our last game prior to the break (against Northwestern State) was as disjointed, low-energy, low-maturity as we had all year. I thought that today was much better. I am thankful that all of this worked out from a logistical standpoint. Losing the Tulane game to cancellation, we needed the game rep regardless of opponent. It is a small pool, as you are seeing, of teams that are able to play make-up games because of all the cancellations. I thought that the rep we got tonight was much better than the game we played last Tuesday.”
On the experience gained against the Crusaders…
“We worked on several things, specifically on offense and on defense. I did not think that we started the game very well at all, and I thought that the second group that came in played really well in the first half. So, we started the second group in the second half. I did think that we took steps in a positive way. We had four turnovers to start the game, and then we had three the rest of the half. In the second half we only had five, which was good. We gave up too many threes, and many of those threes came off of middle drives. Relative to how we are trying to play defensively, we don’t want the ball going to the middle off the pass or the bounce because you get into a non-predictable rotation. That’s one thing that we have to get better at.”
Sophomore guard Hayden Hefner
On lessons learned from Monday’s game…
“I think we worked on being aggressive. We have a lot of guys on our team who can play at a high level, so any chance you get to go in and play, you have to take advantage of it. I did my best to focus on doing the right things and working on the little details. You just have to go in and do what the coaches tell you to do every rep. Keeping that in mind when playing is always important.”
Junior forward Aaron Janecek
On scoring his first career points on an alley-oop dunk…
“I think it was the first possession down on offense, and I was just trying to space out because they were pressing. I saw Wade Taylor IV coming down with the ball, and we made eye contact, so I knew he was going to throw it. He made a perfect pass and I was able to put it down. Those were my first points scored, and I looked over and saw my teammates getting excited for me, so it was pretty awesome.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics