Hayden Hefner leads No. 15 Texas A&M past Texas A&M-Commerce

Senior guard Hayden Hefner scored a game-high 19 points, SEC preseason player of the year Wade Taylor IV finished with 16 points and No. 15 Texas A&M rolled to a 78-46 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce on Monday night in College Station, Texas.

The Aggies knocked down 11 3-pointers on the night, including four by Taylor, three by Hefner and two by Eli Lawrence. Lawrence, a graduate transfer from Middle Tennessee, finished with 11 points in 11 minutes. Solomon Washington had 10 points as the Aggies had four players reach double figures.

The Lions were led by forward Jerome Brewer Jr., who had 13 points. Senior guard Kalen Williams had 10 points.

A&M dominated in just about every category, shooting 46.7 percent from the field compared to Commerce's 29.6 percent and winning the rebounding battle 47-25. However, the Lions provided a brief scare in the first half.

Trailing 20-7 early on, the Lions went on a 12-1 run to pull within 21-20 with 8:18 left in the first half. The Lions' run was highlighted by a 3-pointer by Khaliq Abdul-Mateen and a fast-break, two-handed slam by Zondrick Garrett.

That potential upset alert was short-lived, though. Hefner drained a 3-pointer to make it a two-possession game, and A&M went on to outscore Commerce 21-7 over the final eight minutes to take a 42-27 lead into the locker rooms.

The Aggies didn't let up in the second half. They had an early 10-0 run in the half with Taylor scoring eight of the points. He made two 3-pointers in the stretch, including one to cap the run and give A&M a 52-29 lead with just under 17 minutes left.

A&M had a 12-3 run later in the half as it led comfortably to the finish.

A&M improved to 4-1 in the all-time series against Commerce. This marked the first meeting between the programs since Dec. 12, 1979.