COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Junior Quenton Jackson scored 16 points and freshman Emanuel Miller added 14 to lead Texas A&M to an 81-74 exhibition victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville Friday in Reed Arena.
Jackson shot 7-of-8 from the floor and added four rebounds and two assists while Miller was 5-of-8 with four boards and two assists. Savion Flagg tallied 13 points and led the Maroon & White in rebounds (7) and assists (5). Wendell Mitchell and TJ Starks had double-digit nights, adding 12 and 10, respectively.
The Aggies jumped out to an early 13-5 advantage, but the Javelinas responded to take a 21-14 lead at the 10:37 mark in the first half. Flagg’s three-pointer capped a 16-0 run to give the Aggies a then game-high nine-point advantage. A&M closed the opening frame on a 12-2 advantage to take a 46-34 lead into the locker room.
The Maroon & White dominated the paint in the first half with 24-points down low. Texas A&M shot 65-percent (17-for-26) from the field along with 50-percent (5-for-10) from three.
In the second half, Texas A&M-Kingsville rallied and cut the lead to two, 67-65, after a 10-0 scoring run with 6:44 left. The Aggies closed the game in style with two key defensive stops followed by a pair of free throws from Mitchell and Miller to seal the win over the Javelinas.
The Aggies open the regular season on Wednesday, Nov. 6, hosting Northwestern State in the Maroon Madness Tip-off at 7 p.m.
Game Notes
First Half Notes
- The A&M defense came out strong against A&M- Kingsville for 4:40 early in the contest as the Javelinas were 0-for-6 in that stretch as the Aggies built a 13-5 advantage.
- A&M rattled off 16-straight points in just 3:11 of gameplay following the midpoint of the first half. The Maroon & White took a 30-21 advantage following the run.
- The Aggies shot a blistering 65.4% (17-26) from the floor including 50% (5-10) from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Second Half Notes
- The Aggie offense was stellar in transition, outscoring the Javelinas, 21-4, on the fast break.
- Quenton Jackson was a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and was the only Aggie in double figures in the half with 11 points.
Team Notes
- Five Aggies took the court in the Maroon & White for the first time (Emanuel Miller, Jonathan Aku, Quenton Jackson, Andre Gordon and Yavuz Gultekin).
Player Notes
- Junior Savion Flagg paced the Aggies in rebounds (7) and assists (5) while contributing 13 points.
- Newcomers Quenton Jackson and Emanuel Miller topped the Aggie offense with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
Postgame Quotes
Texas A&M Guard Quenton Jackson
On how comfortable he felt in his first game…
“To be honest I’m super comfortable with our teammates. We all click and gel together. There’s no animosity between anybody, so it’s kind of a family oriented team. It kind of wasn’t hard to come in and just kind of play our game.”
On how it felt to play as an Aggie for the first time…
“I kind of enjoyed it. The crowd was beautiful, and kind of something I expected. We played well, expect for the little stuff that we did badly, but it was fun.”
Texas A&M Forward Savion Flagg
On how they felt playing together…
“I felt like we were very raw. Going into it, everybody’s really hyped to play. We got a little bit away from our system. I feel like that showed on our turnover column. But I feel like we’re learning, and tomorrow when we come in for practice we’re going to get things going the right way.”
On if he felt like he was able to get into a rhythm on offense…
“Like I said, we’re kind of raw. Some people were forgetting their plays. As a collective group we were forgetting the plays. Just our adrenaline going. I wanted to say that some of the freshmen had the jitters. That’s our fault. The older guys trying to get them right so they could get in the flow of the offense and get everybody else going right.”
Texas A&M Head Coach Buzz Williams
On how much stock he puts into an exhibition…
“It’s the first exhibition game I’ve played as a head coach. I’ve never done it. I did this one because of Coach [Johnny Estelle] and my relationship with him. In hindsight, it was for sure the right decision, regardless of Coach. We needed to play with the lights on. We needed to play with some people in the stands. I think there’s a lot to learn from it. We have a long way to go in regards to all of the things that you mentioned. In some ways, I’m very encouraged. In some ways, what I thought came true. Which will allow us to teach with even more impact. But yeah, it was the first exhibition game I’ve ever played. I think we needed reps, not only of what you saw on the floor. I think we needed reps of halftime and pregame. Like, I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to take a shower, or where I was supposed to get dressed. I know that doesn’t matter, but if you’re weird like me it matters a lot. So we needed that rep.”
On his thoughts about his team’s starting rotation…
“We scrimmaged Baylor on Sunday, and we did pretty well the first 20 minutes. And I thought we played pretty well the first 20 minutes here. And then we talked about that at halftime. Can we be better as we begin the second half tonight in comparison to the second half from Sunday. And it was the exact same scenario. I think what we got to figure out is regardless of who plays, who can play and help us get a shot as opposed to a turnover. And the issue is that we had six guys out of the 10 that played that had a minimum of three turnovers. Well you have to play five guys, and so we got to figure out the guys that cannot turn the ball over.”
On how well Quenton Jackson played…
“I thought he played alright. But he still had three turnovers. He can attack downhill. He can force help. I thought offensively, when he didn’t turn it over, I thought he played with great pace and with a mentality that we want to play with.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics