Aggies defeat St. Edwards 87-69 in Friday’s exhibition game

Our Aggies finally had their first true game action of the season, and they ultimately dispatched St. Edwards 87-69. It wasn’t pretty... but it was effective.

Here’s what we learned.

We can’t absorb many injuries this year

Tyler Davis and DJ Hogg were held out for precautionary reasons (Note: There are rumors that Hogg’s benching was disciplinary), and the result was some pretty choppy play. We kept the Hilltoppers at arm’s reach through sheer force of will and raw athleticism, which led to a 48-8 points in the paint advantage... but that’s always going to be there in an exhibition game like this. I would have preferred better shooting or sharper execution, but we had to rely on brute strength. It worked tonight, and it will work in some of our cupcake non-conference games, but the short-handed roster clearly needs to improve if we’re going to survive missed games from the starters in conference play.

Robert Williams threw a block party

The true freshman scored 16 points on 5/7 shooting, with nine rebounds and six blocks in only 22 minutes of action. That’s one heck of a debut. He can finish, and he can protect the rim... and early reports of his ability to contribute immediately appear to be accurate.

Ball handling might be a problem

It’s tough to assess this fairly in an exhibition game, but a night with 15 turnovers is never ideal. Admon Gilder is playing somewhat out of position at the point, and even though he had a nice day (22 points on 8/10 shooting) he wasn’t exactly a facilitator (3 assists, 2 turnovers). Caleb Smith and Chase Carlton appear to be battling for the available backup guard minutes, which is the battle to watch during the early portion of the season.

*************************************

Box Score

Texas A&M’s season opener is this coming Friday at 8pm against Northwestern State.