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Dexter Dennis explains second half surge for Texas A&M

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•02/16/23
Dexter Dennis, Texas A&M Aggies guard
Texas A&M guard Dexter Dennis dribbles into traffic during a game against Auburn on Feb. 7, 2023. (Icon Sportswire / Getty Images)

Arkansas led Texas A&M for most of the first half in a game on Wednesday night, but a Texas A&M surge late in the game propelled the team to a 62-56 win.

It was a huge win for the Aggies, who are positioning themselves nicely for solid NCAA Tournament seeding and remain very much alive in the conference title race in the SEC.

So what changed between the first half and the second?

“I don’t know, just being locked in, being in the moment, being where our feet are,” guard Dexter Dennis said. “I think coach and (Wade Taylor IV) preach that all the time: time, score, momentum. We know it’s really critical situation, just trying to get stops and execute the gameplan in that really critical moment at that point.”

Taylor broke it down even further, noting the Texas A&M surge in the second half was a virtual replica of what the team works on in practice all the time.

That’s why the Aggies were ready.

“We practice situations like that every day,” Taylor said. “We call it a turkey game, it’s like three minutes. We just play for three minutes and see if we can get a turkey. That’s what transpired at the end of the game. Before we came out the last two, two minutes and 40 seconds, we said, ‘If we get a turkey we win the game.’ So that’s what we did.”

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Texas A&M scheme change also helped

The Aggies were down nine points at halftime to the Razorbacks, but made some adjustments at the break that helped propel them to victory. One of those adjustments was switching to a zone defense, which Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams believes made a difference down the stretch.

“I don’t like to talk about myself in any sort of way so I’m not saying it was my decision. But I do think it changed the rhythm, I do think it was a big part of it for sure,” Williams said.

The Aggies held Arkansas to just 23 points in the second half, the least amount of second half points they’ve allowed this season. They also held the Razorbacks’ two leading scorers Ricky Council and Anthony Black below their season scoring averages with just nine and six points, both only making three of their field goal attempts.