KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Henry Coleman III scored 24 points, Wade Taylor IV had 23 and No. 12 Texas A&M beat Penn State 89-77 in the opening round of the ESPN Events Invitational on Thursday.
Tyrece Radford added 14 points for the Aggies (5-0), who lost to the Nittany Lions 76-59 in the first-round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve created a culture, a working culture,” said Coleman, who also had six rebounds.
Kanye Clary led Penn State (4-1) with 19 points and Puff Johnson added 15.
Texas A&M outscored Penn State 56-38 in the paint and 23-7 on second-chance points.
“My teams usually don’t get punished in the paint,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “It’s something we have to get better at.”
Penn State got within three several times during the second half and trailed 75-70 when Taylor hit a long-range 3 and Coleman had an inside basket to put A&M up 80-70 with three minutes to play.
“We didn’t get enough stops,” Rhoades said. “We didn’t get 50-50 balls. That was the difference in the game.”
Coleman had 16 second-half points, including a pair of 3-point plays after Penn State had cut its deficit to three.
Radford had 10 points as Texas A&M grabbed a 39-32 halftime lead. The Aggies scored 24 points, mostly on driving layups, in the paint and nine from the free-throw line.
“I think that a lot of what’s happened on game day has been the reps that have led up to game day from practicing the things that we think translate the most to the game,” Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said.
BIG PICTURE
Penn State: Nick Kern Jr. displayed some offensive power in the second half when he scored all nine of his points. He had an impressive soaring dunk and a strong driving layup.
Texas A&M: Taylor and Radford have proved to be a dynamic duo early on this season. They have combined for four 20-point games and nine double-figure efforts in the team’s first five games.
BOARD WORK
Texas A&M continued its dominance on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 33-20. The Aggies also led in offensive rebounds 12-7. A&M entered No. 2 nationally in offensive boards (19.3) and No. 11 in total rebounds (47.0).
UP NEXT
Penn State: Will face the loser of the matchup between No. 19 Florida Atlantic and Butler in Friday’s consolation round.
Texas A&M: Advances to Friday’s semifinals against the winner of No. 19 Florida Atlantic and Butler.
