Paint prowess propels No. 13 Aggies to dominant 80-60 win over Texas

Buzz Williams press conference video courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics.

An uproarious crowd at Reed Arena on Saturday night enthusiastically celebrated the return of the revelry.

A dominant second half spurred No. 13 Texas A&M (12-2, 1-0) to a lopsided 80-60 Southeastern Conference-opening basketball victory over rival Texas (11-3, 0-1) before a jubilant sellout audience.

Tied at intermission, the Aggies were near-perfect in the decisive second half, especially on the defensive end. They held Texas to a paltry 25 percent shooting (6-of-24). That included just 8.3 percent from 3-point range (1-of-12).

A&M also limited the Longhorns to just one field goal in the final five-and-a-half minutes.

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

A&M shot at a 47 percent clip from the field, while holding the Longhorns to just 34.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the Aggies flexed their muscle in the paint, where they scored 28 of their total 48 points. They did that by outrebounding Texas, 25-14, in the second half. That included eight offensive boards, which led to a dozen second-chance points.

“I think from a rebounding standpoint, we were much better in the second half,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “If you turn it over, you’re not going to get a shot. Therefore, you have no chance for an offensive rebound. Our forwards — several of them — had zero offensive rebounds in the first half. We did a dramatically better job in the second half, which helped us.”

Actually, the Aggies seemed to help themselves to whatever they wanted in the second half.

Guard Zhuric Phelps scored 15 points in the second half en route to a game-high 18. Pharrel Payne had nine of 15 points in the second half.

“I feel likem from the get-go, my whole thing is being aggressive,” said Payne, who had five boards. “If I get the ball in the post, be aggressive. Try to go at them. I feel like that’s the way our whole team was looking at it.”

Williams was duly impressed with Payne, who scored in double figures for the third time in the last four games.

“I thought Gochi (Payne) was tremendous,” Williams said. “But I thought the maturity of our guys to give (the ball) to him was good. That was the most efficient he has been relative to scoring but also from an offensive rebounding standpoint.

“I thought we had multiple guys that did a really good job getting into the paint and forcing them into rotation. So, when we didn’t shoot it in the paint, those shots that we were taking from 3 were coming from inside-out.”

Unfortunately, the Aggies struggled from 3-point range. They converted just 2-of-19 attempts from behind the arc.

But they more than compensated inside. Overall, the Aggies scored 17 layups and a dunk. They also scored 14 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds.

That was a sore point for Texas coach Rodney Terry, whose Longhorns managed just 16 points inside and got just five offensive rebounds.

Texas desperately needed more production inside because perimeter shooting waned in the second half. The Longhorns hit 6-of-14 attempts from 3-point range in the first half but converted just 1-of-12 in the second.

Terry lamented that the Aggies weren’t bigger inside. They just had bigger hearts.

“It’s what’s in your chest,” he said. “(The Aggies) are not a big team, themselves. It’s 6-foot-8 over there… 6-foot-9, at the most. They don’t have to be a big team. It’s what’s in your chest.

“You’ve got to be able to outcompete other teams. It has nothing to do with size. It has the want-to and getting out and getting after it.”

The Aggies got after it in full force in the second half. They’d rallied from an eight-point deficit to forge a 37-37 halftime tie.

But A&M opened the second half with a 15-2 run to seemingly take control with a 52-39 lead at the 14:38 mark.

However, Texas countered and pulled within 57-52 on a pair of free throws by guard Tramon Mark, who led the Longhorns with 14 points.

It was a short-lived Longhorn rally.

Hayden Hefner, who scored seven of his nine points in the second half, scored a layup off an offensive rebound.

Payne followed with a layup off a lob from Wade Taylor IV. He scored another layup off an assist from Hefner. Then, Hefner drilled a 3-pointer from the corner to push A&M’s lead back to double figures, 66-55, with 5:19 to play.

“I thought the guy that was really, really unheralded who did an incredible job was ‘H’ (Hefner),” Williams said. “Probably the least talented player that played in the Lone Star Showdown, but it’s hard to grade guts. He’s got big guts.”

The Aggies never slowed down as they cruised to their eighth consecutive victory. It was their first win over the Longhorns since an 84-73 victory in 2015.

A little more than five years have passed since the long-time arch-enemies last played.

The win was worth the wait.