The No. 12 Aggies remain unbeaten at 5-0 and proved that they can win with more than just defense and rebounding as they shot it out with the Nittany Lions and walked away winners. A&M hit an even 60% from the field, including 36% (5-14) from 3-point range and absolutely dominated in the paint in the 89-77 victory.

The discussion of the game has to start with the play of forward Henry Coleman III, who continues his dominating start to the season. Coleman lost a lot of playing time to Julius Marble last year because his hands were inconsistent, he was up and down at the free throw line and could be battered by more physical opponents.

That was then. This is now.

Penn State thought they could handle Coleman as they did last year, bringing guards down to swipe at the ball and using new, bigger center Qudus Wahab to keep away from the basket. Coleman didn't give them a chance, as he used his superior speed and skill set to dismantle Wahab. Instead of backing down towards the basket in a plodding fashion as he and Marble did last year, Coleman faced up Wahab or whoever covered him and took them straight to the basket. He was much too fast for Wahab, who ended up with 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 fouls, while Coleman had 24 points and 6 rebounds.

When the Aggies needed a basket to stem Penn State runs in the second half, Coleman came through. He converted three 3-point plays, including two in a row, and made 8 of his 10 free throw attempts. When he got the ball in the low post, he grabbed it and went up strong, unafraid of contact. Penn State had no answer.

Coleman controlled the post, but A&M dominated in the paint all day. In a game that had a lot of scoring right at the basket, the Aggies outscored Penn State 56-38 in the paint. Boots Radford had some critical driving layups to keep the Aggies ahead in the first half.

Wade Taylor looked more like himself Thursday, as he scored 24 points on 8-13 shooting. He didn't really press to shoot from beyond the arc, being content to drive to the hoop. But that may have actually helped him with his outside shooting, as he hit 2 of the 5 3's that that he put up.

Outside of Radford's 14, nobody else scored in double-digits for the Aggies --- but they got contributions up and down the lineup. Hayden Hefner had 5 points while only shooting 3 shots, while Jace Carter had 6. Solomon Washington had 6 points on 3-3 shooting, with two dunks.

Andersson Garcia was typical Andy. He only had 2 points, attempted 1 shot, and impacted the game in a huge way. He had 5 rebounds, including 4 on the offensive glass, 4 assists and a steal. And it seemed like every assist was critical, including tipping out one miss for Taylor to hit a wide open 3 with under 4 minutes to go.

This game was played at a crazy fast pace, and there wasn't much defense to be had for either team. Penn State hit 53% from the field themselves, including 6-19 from beyond the arc. The Nittany Lions hit 11 baskets in the row during the second half, but the Aggies never lost the lead. Every time Penn State made a run, Coleman or Taylor had an answer.

This would have been a game that the Aggies lost at this time last year, and maybe even during their hot streak. But they showed the toughness of a veteran team and did what they needed to do to hold off a hot-shooting opponent. The Aggies intentionally scheduled a tougher non-conference slate to shut up the NCAA and show they're not afraid of big competition. So far, the plan is working perfectly, as they've found different ways to win each time out.