By: Evan Roberts, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Marcus Williams dribbled out of the back court and drilled a pull-up 3-pointer with under a second left to give Texas A&M an 81-79 win over Georgia in the Southeastern Conference opener for both schools Tuesday night.
The Aggies built a 12-point lead at the break, but Georgia roared back in the second half and took the lead with 5.5 seconds left on a three-point play by Kario Oquendo. Williams came off a screen to take the in-bounds pass and found space to take the open 3 that fell with 0.9 seconds left.
Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0) now has won five straight games and the victory give the Aggies their sixth win in 11 games all-time with Georgia.
Henry Coleman III led the Aggies with 23 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Wade Taylor IV chipped in 10 points off the bench.
Oquendo scored 12 of his team-high 21 points in the second half as Georgia (5-9, 0-1) erased a 46-34 halftime deficit. Noah Baumann hit 5 of 10 from behind the 3-point arc and finished with 19 points and Braelen Bridges added a dozen points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Texas A&M returns home to host Arkansas Saturday. Georgia, which has now lost three straight and four of its last five games, travels to face No. 16 Kentucky Saturday.
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M edged out the Georgia Bulldogs, 81-79, Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum.
- Texas A&M is 1-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2015-16 season and won its first SEC road opener since joining the conference in 2012-13.
- The Aggies’ 12-2 start is the best since 2015-16 when A&M opened the campaign with a 17-2 ledger.
- The Maroon & White have won six out the last seven meetings against Georgia, and hold a 6-5 advantage in series annals.
TEAM NOTES
- The Maroon & White outrebounded Georgia, 31-28. A&M is 8-0 when it wins the rebounding battle.
- A&M forced 16 turnovers and scored 25 points off those turnovers to Georgia’s 12 points on 14 turnovers.
- The Aggies used the starting lineup of Henry Coleman III, Andre Gordon, Ethan Henderson, Tyrece Radford and Marcus Williams for the second time this season (2-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Henry Coleman III led the Aggies with 23 points, marking the second time this season he has scored 20-or-more points. Coleman III hauled in a team-high seven rebounds,
- Marcus Williams dropped 18 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left. The game was the 31st of his career with at least 10 points. The Dickinson, Texas, native dished out a team-high five assists, his fifth game with 5-or-more assists this season.
- Aaron Cash tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven. In the last three games, Cash is averaging a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game.
- Ethan Henderson recorded a season-high three blocks. The Little Rock, Arkansas, native leads the team with eight on the year.
UP NEXT
The Aggies return to Reed Arena to face off against Arkansas on Saturday at noon. The game can be seen on SEC Network.