COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) A breakout night from walk-on guard Mark French helped Texas A&M edge Troy 56-52 Wednesday night at Reed Arena.
French, a senior, scored a career-high 12 points, all in the second half, including a game-tying 3-pointer and an assist on the final-go ahead basket.
Josh Nebo led the Aggies (3-1) with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Troy’s Darian Adams led all scorers with a career-high 20 points.
The Trojans (1-4) closed out the first half on a 6-0 run to lead 25-17. During the stretch, the Aggies shot 1-for-9 from the field. A&M head coach Buzz Williams kept his players on the baseline during the intermission, meeting in a huddle instead of in the locker room.
Cold shooting from both teams continued into the second half, including a stretch where the Aggies shot 1-for-9 and the Trojans 1-for-10.
A&M finished the night shooting 32.1% from the field and 17.9% from behind the arc, hoisting up a season-high 28 3-point attempts. Troy shot 31.8% from the field and 23.3 from 3-point range, going 7-for-30.
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M improved to 3-1 Wednesday night defeating Troy, 56-52, inside Reed Arena.
- The Aggies are now 2-0 all-time against the Trojans.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies outscored Troy 39-27 in the second half, shooting 44.4% (12-for-27) from the field, and forced 10 second-half turnovers.
- Texas A&M shot 73.9 percent from the free-throw line (17-23), In the last two games, A&M is shooting 29-of-39 (74.4%) from the charity stripe.
- The Aggies tallied eight blocks on the night, a new season high.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Mark French, Emanuel Miller, Jay Jay Chandler, Josh Nebo, and Wendell Mitchell for the first time this season (1-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Mark French put up career highs in points (12), rebounds (4), and minutes (30) in his second career start.
- Josh Nebo posted his fourth career double-double grabbing 12 boards, a career-high, and scored 14 points. Nebo added five blocks, moving his career total to 224, which ranks first among all players.
- Nebo is the first Aggie to record a double-double since Savion Flagg had 21 points and 10 rebounds against Mississippi State last season (March 14).
- Jay Jay Chandler scored 10 points, marking his 19th game with 10-or-more points in his career.
- Jonathan Aku blocked two shots and has recorded a block in every single game.
- Buzz Williams is 3-1 in his first season at Texas A&M and 256-156 in his 13 seasons as a head coach.
UP NEXT
- The Aggies hit the road for the first time this season as they compete in the Orlando Invitational. Action begins Nov. 28 as they take on Harvard at 12 or 12:30 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN2.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics