PJ Haggerty poured in 22 points in his Texas A&M debut, pacing a balanced offensive attack in a 97-66 victory over Alabama State on Tuesday in College Station, Texas, in the season opener for both teams.
The Aggies led by 15 at halftime and weathered a tepid Hornets rally early in the second half by forging a 12-0 run to push the margin to 22. The visitors trimmed the deficit to 58-46 with 11:52 to play but got no closer against A&M’s full-court pressure defense, which forced 25 turnovers.
Haggerty, who averaged 23.4 points per game last season at Kansas State, was one of five Aggies in double figures. Jordan Pope added 17 points, Jalen Shelly had 14 points and 12 rebounds, Mackenzie Mgbako scored 12 and Tyshawn Archie tallied 11.
Paul McMillan IV led the Hornets with 17 points, while Mike James had 16 and Damarion Bonds grabbed 10 rebounds.
The Aggies led 16-13 at the 12:17 mark before forging a 6-2 run, with all six points coming from the free-throw line, to increase their lead to seven with 10:20 remaining in the half.
The Hornets kept the game close, drawing within three when James hit a second-chance jumper with 7:30 left before halftime. A&M responded with an 11-2 surge capped by Cade Phillips’ dunk with 3:41 remaining to push its lead to double digits for the first time.
The Aggies extended their advantage to 16 on Haggerty’s layup with 3:03 left before settling for a 44-29 halftime lead.
Haggerty scored 10 points to pace A&M before halftime, while James’ 10 led the Hornets. The Aggies forced 17 turnovers in the first half that led to 20 points but shot just 44.4% from the floor and 2-of-10 from 3-point range.
A 3-pointer by James followed by a basket from Bonds in the first 1:35 of the second half trimmed A&M’s lead to 10. The Aggies answered by scoring the next 12 points, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Pope, to extend their lead to 56-34 and never looked back.