Rohde scores 13, Virginia clamps down on D to beat No. 14 Texas A&M 59-47
Andrew Rohde scored 13 points and Virginia took command with a 17-2 run spanning the halves and beat No. 14 Texas A&M 59-47 on Wednesday night.
Rohde, a transfer from St. Thomas and the Summit League's top freshman last year, made three of Virginia's nine 3-pointers, including one he banked in to beat the shot clock during the surge. All five starters for Virginia (6-1) scored in double figures, with Reece Beekman, Ryan Dunn and Jake Groves all scoring 12.
The Cavaliers got all their points from the starting five, and all played at least 31 minutes.
“I just thought the way Texas A&M guards you, they switch everything. They really force you to, you know, put it on the floor, they flood and then you get a kick and make some outside shots. Their defense is just predicated that way," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "And I thought Jake was — some of the action we ran — we needed his ability to stretch and make some plays.”
Henry Coleman III led Texas A&M (6-2) with 16 points and 14 rebounds. The Aggies' point total was their lowest this season; they arrived averaging 79.3.
The Aggies had a 16-3 advantage in second-chance points, outrebounded Virginia 42-30, including 18 offensive rebounds, but turned the ball over 16 times.
“I think the thing that in the end hurt us the most, we shot more balls than they did. We made more free throws than they attempted. Beat them on the offensive glass, beat them on the defensive glass,” Aggies coach Buzz Williams said.
“We gave them the ball 16 times. I understand that we’re not going to play with zero turnovers, but 16 is just an astronomically high number percentage wise in a 59-possession game.”
The Cavaliers led through most of the first half before the Aggies went ahead briefly. Dunn got Virginia the lead back with a 3-pointer to make it 27-26 at halftime, and the basket started what became the 17-2 run to put the Cavaliers ahead 41-28. Groves and Rohde both added 3-pointers in the run.
BIG PICTURE
Texas A&M: The Aggies played without injured No. 3 scorer Tyrece Radford (13.0 ppg). They were without Radford and injured No. 2 scorer Henry Coleman III (14.2) in their game on Sunday when they came back from 21 points down to beat Iowa State 73-69, the largest comeback in program history.
Virginia: The Cavaliers did not attempt a free throw until Dunn made a pair with 8:44 to play.
UP NEXT
The Aggies don't play again until next Wednesday, when they host DePaul.
The Cavaliers are at home against ACC rival Syracuse on Saturday.
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