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The Aggies (27-12) will play Xavier, which eliminated St.
Bonaventure 84-77 in the first semifinal, on Thursday night for
the tournament title. The fourth-seeded Cougars finished their
season at 22-15.
Henry Coleman III added 14 of his 16 points in the second half
for Texas A&M, which won for the 11th time in 12 games. Manny
Obaseki chipped in 14 points for the Aggies, who hit 58.1
percent of their shots in the second half.
Tyrell Roberts scored 14 points for Washington State, but
leading scorer Michael Flowers was held to 2-of-12 shooting and
managed just five points. Flowers broke Klay Thompson's
single-season school record for 3-pointers in the Cougars' 77-58
win at BYU on Wednesday night, but he missed all five of his
shots from long distance on Tuesday.
Texas A&M broke this one open with a 27-6 run early in the
second half, taking a 66-39 lead when Wade Taylor converted a
layup off one of Washington State's 17 turnovers.
The first 10 minutes won't appear on any instructional videos
unless they have to do with defense or how not to make shots.
Washington State needed nearly four minutes to make a field
goal, and the score was tied 7-7 nearly 8 1/2 minutes into the
game.
But Texas A&M became the first team to find a rhythm
offensively. Beginning with Jackson's layup off a steal at the
10:02 mark, the Aggies rattled off nine straight points,
establishing a 19-12 advantage when Jackson converted a
three-point play with 6:37 left.
The margin reached 11 when Hassan Diarra drove for a layup with
1:59 remaining, but the Cougars took some momentum into
halftime. They scored the final five points, including a putback
by DJ Rodman with 54 seconds on the clock that pulled them
within 32-26.
--Field Level Media
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