KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Henry Coleman III scored 24 points, Wade Taylor IV had 23 and No. 12 Texas A&M beat Penn State 89-77 in the opening round of the ESPN Events Invitational on Thursday.
Tyrece Radford added 14 points for the Aggies (5-0), who lost to the Nittany Lions 76-59 in the first-round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Kanye Clary led Penn State (4-1) with 19 points and Puff Johnson added 15.
Penn State got within three several times during the second half and trailed 75-70 when Taylor hit a long-range 3 and Coleman had an inside basket to put A&M up 80-70 with three minutes to play.
Coleman had 16 second-half points, including a pair of 3-point plays after Penn State had cut its deficit to three.
Radford had 10 points as Texas A&M grabbed a 39-32 halftime lead. The Aggies scored 24 points, mostly on driving layups, in the paint and nine from the free-throw line.
BIG PICTURE
Penn State: Nick Kern Jr. displayed some offensive power in the second half when he scored all nine of his points. He had an impressive soaring dunk and a strong driving layup.
Texas A&M: Taylor and Radford have proved to be a dynamic duo early on this season. They have combined for four 20-point games and nine double-figure efforts in the team’s first five games.
UP NEXT
Penn State: Will face the loser of the matchup between No. 19 Florida Atlantic and Butler in Friday's consolation round.
Texas A&M: Advances to Friday's semifinals against the winner of No. 19 Florida Atlantic and Butler.
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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
