Aggies' Thanksgiving feast: Nittany Lions
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. — When Texas A&M played Penn State in sub-zero temperatures in Iowa in March, they were frigid from the floor. In Thursday’s rematch in sunny Orlando, the Aggies were red hot.
Henry Coleman III and Wade Taylor each scored 24 points as the No. 12 Aggies (5-0) shot 60% from the floor to get a measure of revenge against the Nittany Lions (4-1) in an 89-77 win at the ESPN Events Invitational at Walt Disney World.
Coleman, who was held to just 2 points in A&M’s 76-59 loss the first round of the NCAA Tournament, attacked the basket repeatedly Thursday and dominated the low post. He was 8 of 11 from the field, 8 of 10 from the free throw line and converted two consecutive 3-point plays in the second half to stifle Penn State runs.
Taylor, who had not hit a 3-pointer since his first shot against Ohio State, hit two Thursday as he hit 8 of 13 shots. He added 6 rebounds and 3 assists, including one between the legs of a Penn State defender to trigger one of Coleman’s 3-point plays.
The Aggies and Nittany Lions battled back and forth in the first half, with Penn State taking a 24-22 lead on a 3-pointer by guard Puff Johnson with 6:09 to go. But a clock malfunction, which occurred before the shot, led to a pause in play of several minutes. When the game clock was re-activated, it essentially struck midnight — appropriate, considering the location — for the Nittany Lions as they would never lead again.
The Aggies went on a 10-0 run out of the timeout, with Boots Radford quickly hit a driving layup out of the timeout to tie the game. Andersson Garcia followed with a layup of his own, followed by two baskets from Coleman. Penn State stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws, but a 3 by forward Jace Carter put A&M up 35-26 with 3:11 to go in the half.
Radford (12 points) converted a layup to put A&M up 10 with 53 seconds to go in the half, but a 3-point play by Johnson cut A&M’s lead to 39-32 at halftime.
A&M jumped back up to a double-digit lead with less than 2 minutes gone in the second half, with Taylor hitting a long 3 to put the Aggies up 44-34. A minute later, Hayden Hefner hit a 3 of his own to put the Aggies up 11, but the Nittany Lions whittled away at the lead. A thunderous dunk by Penn State’s Nick Kern cut A&M’s lead to 7, and a 3 from point guard Ace Baldwin cut A&M’s lead to 53-50 with 11:39 to go.
The Aggies responded with a dunk by Solomon Washington on a pass from Garcia, but Johnson scored again to cut A&M’s lead to 3. Radford followed with a layup, then Coleman scored on a 3-point player after a Penn State miss to put A&M back up 8 as the game continued at a frenetic pace.
The Nittany Lions rallied again, as Kern scored on a layup with 7:08 left to whittle the lead back down to 3. Coleman than forced his way to the basket for the hoop and the harm to put A&M up 6, but Baldwin responded with another 3 as Penn State hit 11 shots in a row from the field.
In spite of their Des Moines-esque hot streak, Coleman wouldn’t let the Nittany Lions take the lead. He converted his second 3-point play in a row on the following possession, making it a 6-point game again. The Aggies and Penn State then traded baskets for several possessions, before Carter missed a 3, but Garcia tipped the ball back out to a wide open Taylor, who nailed his second 3 to put the Aggies up 8 with 3:52 left. Penn State threw the ball away on their next possession, and Coleman converted a layup to put A&M back up 10 with 3:27 to go.
The Nittany Lions did their best to keep the game close, but their hot shooting finally lost steam and A&M’s big three of Coleman, Taylor and Radford continued to score to keep the lead between 8 and 10 points. A basket by Washington with 37 seconds left gave the Aggies their biggest lead and the final margin of victory.
A&M will play the winner of the Florida Atlantic-Butler game in the semifinals of the ESPN Events Invitational Friday.