Coleman’s Career Night Lifts Aggie Men Over North Florida

WTAW 1620 Aggie Basketball

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Henry Coleman III scored 27 points and Texas A&M pulled away down the stretch to defeat North Florida 64-46 on Wednesday night.

Marcus Williams added 11 points for the Aggies, who had a hard time getting on track against the Ospreys (0-2), who lost at Texas Tech on Tuesday.

Coleman, a transfer from Duke, slammed one down a minute before the end of the first half and Ethan Henderson made a fastbreak layup at the buzzer to give Texas A&M a 36-32 lead at the break.

The Aggies never trailed in the second half but were only up 45-41 after Jadyn Parker and Josh Berenbaum scored at the rim.

From there the Aggies took charge, starting with Coleman hitting three of four free throws to start a 7-0 run than continued as a 19-5 game-closing surge. Williams, the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year at Wyoming last season, had a 3-pointer and fastbreak dunk during the run.

North Florida hit just two of its last 11 shots and shot 24% in the second half, including 2 of 12 from 3-point range. The Ospreys also finished with 29 turnovers the Aggies turned into 29 points.

Carter Hendricksen led North Florida with 14 points.

Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 64, North Florida 46
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)

RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
Texas A&M opened the 2021-22 season with a 64-46 victory over North Florida Wednesday night at Reed Arena.
Texas A&M extends its streak to 21 consecutive season-opening wins.
The Aggies’ all-time record between the two teams is now 1-0.

TEAM NOTES
The Aggies forced 29 turnovers, the most since 2006 when they forced 30 against Grambling State.
In the second half, the Aggies held the Ospreys to 14 points on 6 of 25 shooting and 2 for 12 from the 3-point line. The 14 points allowed was the lowest in a half since March 12, 2016, when A&M gave up just 13 points against LSU in the SEC tournament.
In the first half, A&M outscored North Florida 26-8 in the paint. The Aggies finished the game with a 40-16 paint advantage.
Seven Aggies made their debut in the maroon and white.
A&M shot 14-of-18 from the free-throw line.
Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Javonte Brown, Henry Coleman III, Andre Gordon, Tyrece Radford and Marcus Williams for the first time this season (1-0).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Henry Coleman III scored 19 of his career-high 27 points in the first half as he paced the Aggie offense in scoring for the game. Coleman also shot 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.
Coleman also set career highs in rebounds (7) and minutes played (34).
Marcus Williams recorded his 23rd career game with 10-or-more points, finishing the night with 11 points. The Dickinson, Texas, native also registered a team-high five assists.
Tyrece Radford led the Aggies with 10 rebounds, marking the 18th time in his career he has led in team on the glass.
Wade Taylor IV dished out a team best five assists in his first career game.

UP NEXT
Texas A&M hosts Abilene Christian on Friday, November 12 at Reed Arena at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+.

POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Assistant Coach Devin Johnson
On his first impressions of the team this year…
“We played well. The thing that I loved about Henry Coleman tonight was that he was vocal on the defensive end. He helped us get into the right spots. He played amazing, and he brought something to our team that we haven’t had in a while. But, I’m excited about all of our guys. On the defensive end, we stood up to the challenge. Going into the game, we knew they (North Florida) could shoot threes. Last year, they led the country in 3-point attempts in transition, so all of our focus was on getting our hands over our heads. They can’t shoot it where they can’t catch it. I think our guys did an amazing job of that tonight.”

On the teamwork among the coaching staff…
“Coach Buzz (Williams) is an amazing leader. He prepared us for this moment, so my job was easy. Also, our staff is amazing. I cannot take the credit for it. Coach (Dale) Layer was a head coach. Coach “Roc” (Steve Roccaforte) was a head coach. Coach Vince (Walden) was a head coach. So I’m in the middle of all of those guys. All of those guys were in my ear helping me out, and we stuck to the plan. Coach Buzz had us prepared, and we came in and executed tonight.”

On winning his first game as a head coach…
“There were a lot of emotions. A lot of emotions. But, I have a praying family, and so my family was praying for me and that calmed me down. I prayed – I was praying throughout the game – especially when they (North Florida) were making a run. It really calmed me down, and I knew that Coach (Buzz Williams) had us prepared for the moment. I had to make a little adjustment here and a little adjustment there, but I was very excited for the opportunity, and I’m so happy for our guys. Our guys stepped up and did what they were supposed to do.”

Sophomore forward Henry Coleman
On the atmosphere for his first game in Aggieland…
“It was a great environment for our first game. The 12th Man came out and lifted us up, especially in the second half. Coming out and playing is something that I love to do, and I get to do it with a lot of great guys, so I’m very thankful for that.”

On the team’s fast start…
“I think it calmed us down a little bit, but it lifts us up in the same way. Starting off and having that punch-first mentality is something that Coach (Devin Johnson) told us to have, and I think that we executed that very well.”

Junior guard Tyrece Radford
On the team’s perimeter shooting…
“I think that, as far as our team is concerned, we didn’t do a great job of shooting the ball tonight from the perimeter, but I think it was just this night. We are going to continue to get in the gym and work on that going forward. I think we usually shoot the ball pretty well.”

On Coach Johnson winning his first game at the helm…
“It was a very special game. Coach (Devin Johnson) was the guy that recruited me to come here. Being here to see him get his first career win as a head coach – it’s big for him and I think that it was big for the team too.”

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