Spanish import Ruben Dominguez poured in 18 points to lead five Texas A&M players in double figures as the new-look Aggies romped past Northwestern State 98-68 on Monday in the season opener for both teams in College Station, Texas.
The Aggies (1-0) played their first game under new coach Bucky McMillan, debuting their version of McMillan’s high-octane offense dubbed “Bucky Ball.”
McMillan brought in 12 transfers for the season. Even though Texas A&M is far from a finished product as its squad learns to play together, the Aggies were too much for Northwestern State to contend with.
Dominguez came to the Aggies after playing professionally for four seasons in his native Spain. He hit 4 of 7 3-point attempts and scored his 18 in just 19 minutes.
Rylan Griffen and Josh Holloway had 13 points apiece for the Aggies while Jacari Lane and Rashaun Agee hit for 12 apiece and Federiko Federiko added a game-high eight rebounds to his eight points.
Northwestern State’s Micah Thomas paced all scorers with 28 points with Omar Adegbola added 14 for the Demons (0-1).
While the Aggies filled up the scorebook with aplomb, it was their defense that took charge four minutes into the contest. Texas A&M was up just 11-8 after a three-point play by the Demons’ Izzy Miles at the 16:04 mark but stoked the lead to 21 points when Griffen canned a pair of free throws with 4:55 to play until halftime. Northwestern State committed six turnovers and had a shot blocked over that pivotal stretch.
The Aggies led by 25 points late in the half and settled for a 56-35 lead at the break. They outshot the visitors 51.1 % to 41.4 % from the floor over the first 20 minutes of play while hitting on seven of its 17 shots from beyond the arc.
Ten of the 11 players to see the court in the half for the Aggies scored, led by Dominguez with 13 points and Lane with 10. Thomas’ 18 points before halftime led all scorers and helped Northwestern State stay as close as it did.
Like in the first half, the Demons played Texas A&M basically even over the first 10 minutes of the second. But the Aggies kept attacking on both ends of the floor and expanded their advantage to 83-53 when Pop Issacs hit a layup with 8:33 to play during a 13-0 run.
The Aggies outshot the Demons 49.3% to 39.7% for the night.
