Story by Evan Roberts, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Quenton Jackson led a balanced attack with 16 points, Marcus Williams made the clinching free throws with 4.4 seconds left and Texas A&M edged Arkansas 86-81 on Saturday.
The Williams free throws came after teammate Hassan Diarra, a 55.6% free throw shooter, made a pair for an 84-80 lead with 14 seconds left and Davonte Davis intentionally missed a free throw with 5.7 seconds remaining for Arkansas.
Davis made his first free throw and as he intentionally missed the second, he was called for a lane violation. The Aggies had to use a timeout to get the ball in and Williams got behind the defense and then sealed the game after gathering in the long pass.
Texas A&M had a 16-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half and led 65-48 on a Jackson jumper with 11 minutes to play. Arkansas trailed by 11 with less than four minutes to go but JD Notae hit a jumper with 1:08 left to cap a 10-0 run.
Jackson answered with a 3-pointer at 34 seconds but Notae followed with a pair from the line. The Razorbacks trapped Diarra far from the basket but fouled him.
Henry Coleman III scored 14 points for the Aggies (13-2, 2-0 Southeastern Conference), who won their sixth straight, the last being a two-point conference win at Georgia. Andre Gordon added 13 points, Tyrece Radford 12 and Wade Taylor IV 11. Williams, who hit the game-winning 3 against Georgia with 1.2 seconds to play to give A&M its best start since 2015-16, finished with nine points.
Notae scored 31 points for the Razorbacks (10-5, 0-3), who have lost five of six. It was an Arkansas best and the fourth 30-plus game of his career that started with Jacksonville. Davis scored 13 off the bench, going 9 of 10 from the line.
Texas A&M went 8 of 19 from 3-point range but shot 56% (31 of 55) overall. The Aggies were only 16 of 30 from the foul line and were outrebounded 46-32.
Jaylin Williams led Arkansas with 11 rebounds to go with 10 points. The Razorbacks shot 41% (27 of 66) but got back in the game by going 17 of 21 from the foul line in the second half.
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 86, Arkansas 81
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M defeated Arkansas, 86-81, Saturday afternoon inside Reed Arena.
- The Aggies improve to 13-2 on the season and 2-0 in the SEC, the best start since the 2015-16 season.
- Texas A&M is now 9-0 at home this season.
- &M has won six of the last eight against Arkansas inside Reed Arena.
TEAM NOTES
- With the Aggies trailing, 24-14, with 11:29 in the first half, A&M went on an 18-4 run over the next 5:25 to take a 32-29 lead.
- A&M went on an 18-2 point scoring run in the second half to extend their lead to, 58-43.
- Five Aggies scored in double digits for the fourth time this season. A&M is 4-0 this season in games where five players score in double figures.
- Texas A&M’s offense eclipsed the 80-point mark for the ninth time this season.
- The Aggies used the starting lineup of Marcus Williams, Ethan Henderson, Henry Coleman III, Andre Gordon and Tyrece Radford for the third time this season (3-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Quenton Jackson led the Maroon & White in scoring with 16 points and hauled in five rebounds.
- Henry Coleman III cleaned up the glass and led Texas A&M with nine rebounds. Coleman added 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting and was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line.
- Andre Gordon shot a perfect 5-5 from inside the arc and 2-2 from beyond to finish with 13 points. Gordon dished out a team-high four assists.
- Wade Taylor IV put up 11 points, his sixth game in double figured this season.
- Tyrece Radford scored 12 points and recorded five rebounds.
UP NEXT
- Texas A&M takes on Ole Miss on Tuesday at Reed Arena at 7:30 p.m. The game can be seen on SEC Network.