No. 15 Aggies Battle Past Buckeyes, 73-66

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 15 Texas A&M men's basketball team took down Ohio State for a 73-66 road victory in a back-and-forth affair on Friday at the Schottenstein Center.
 
The hard-fought game featured 19 lead changes and the score was tied seven times, but the Aggies made the plays down to the stretch to grab a rare non-conference Power 5 road victory.
 
Three Aggies scored 20 or more points as last year's top SEC guard scoring tandem of graduate Tyrece Radford and junior Wade Taylor poured in 21 points apiece and senior forward Henry Coleman III bullied his way to 20 points. Coleman also grabbed 11 rebounds as he tallied the 11^th double-double of his career.
 
The Aggies took the lead for good at the 7:16 mark of the second half on a Taylor jumper followed by a bucket from Coleman, and the Buckeyes never got closer than three for the remainder of the contest. The Aggies' final point of the game on a free throw from sophomore Solomon Washington gave them a seven-point advantage, which their largest lead of the night in the tight game.
 
Led by senior forward Andersson Garcia's game high 13 rebounds, Texas A&M was dominant on the glass with a 45-35 rebound advantage. A 16-to-12 bulge in offensive boards led to a 19-9 advantage in second chance points.
 
Notes:
RARE POWER 5 ROAD OPPONENT: The Aggies' 73-66 win over Ohio State was just the second true road game against a non-conference Power 5 team during the Buzz Williams era of Aggie basketball. The other Power 5 opponent faced by the Aggies on the road was a 83-73 win over Oregon State in Corvallis, Oregon on Dec. 18, 2021.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE: Senior F Henry Coleman scored 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds for his 11^th career points/rebounds double-double. Coleman also calmed hit 4-of-4 free throws down the stretch to help hold off the Buckeyes.

BENCH BOARDS: Senior Andersson Garcia's 13 rebounds off the bench were the most by an Aggie reserve in more than a decade since Bryan Davis pulled down 14 boards against Kent State on Nov. 29, 2008.  In fact, Garcia is one of just seven Aggies with 13 or more rebounds off the bench since the 1996-97 season, according to STATSPASS. Garcia's 13 rebounds were just off his career high of 14 as a starter vs. South Carolina on March 10, 2022 from his days at Mississippi State. 

MOVING ON UP: With the win over the Buckeyes, Aggie head coach Buzz Williams moved into a tie with Tony Barone (1991-98) at No. 6 on the school's coaching wins list. 
 
CENTURY MARK: Sophomore forward Solomon Washington grabbed four rebounds to give him exactly 100 rebounds in the 33^rd game of his career.

Postgame Comments:

Head Coach Buzz Williams sat down with Andrew Monaco and Dr. John Thornton to discuss the win on the postgame radio show, video below.