COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M men’s basketball poured in points from the opening tip Friday night, beating Northern Kentucky 104-67 at home in College Station to move to 2-0 on the young season.
The Aggies opened with the first 11 points of the night and never let the Norse settle in. Guard Jordan Pope paced the scoring with 18 points, while Mackenzie Mgbako finished with 14 points, a team-high seven rebounds and four assists. Six Aggies reached double figures in all.
Texas A&M built a 32-20 cushion midway through the first half, then ripped off a 13-0 burst to push the margin to 50-27. The home side shot 61% before the break and 54% for the night, and it owned the lane with a 56-22 edge in paint points.
The defense was just as busy. The Aggies forced 23 turnovers, came up with 15 steals and swatted nine shots, then closed the night with separate runs of 12-0 and 14-0 over the final 10 minutes. That output lifted the team’s scoring average to 100.5 per game across its first two outings.
Northern Kentucky arrived unbeaten after Noah Pagotto scored 30 points in a 102-94 win over South Dakota. Willie Foster led the Norse on Friday with 23 points, and Northern Kentucky fell to 2-1. The Norse finished 12-11 in Horizon League play last season.
Texas A&M is coming off a 22-12 season in which it went 14-4 at home. Northern Kentucky heads to Saint Louis on Tuesday.
For a program that leaned on bench scoring and points off turnovers a year ago, the opening week has offered an early look at a deeper rotation. Last season the Aggies averaged 34.9 bench points and 16.6 points off turnovers, and Friday’s pressure defense turned Norse mistakes into easy chances again.
Friday’s result was a sharp turn for a Northern Kentucky offense that put up 83.1 points a game last season, as the Aggies held the visitors well short of that mark on their home floor.
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