Jace Carter scores 14 points as No. 21 Texas A&M routs DePaul 89-64

CHICAGO - Jace Carter scored 14 points and Wade Taylor IV and Henry Coleman III added 13 each as No. 21 Texas A&M raced to a 32-point halftime lead and cruised to a 89-64 win over DePaul on Wednesday night.

The Aggies made 14 3-pointers, which is tied for second-most in school history.

Texas A&M (7-2) led 62-30 at halftime for its most points in a first half since scoring 65 against Grambling in 2006. The Aggies made 11 of their 3-pointers before the break, led by four from Carter and three from Taylor.

Carter entered the game shooting just 17% on 3-pointers, but made 4 of 7 Wednesday night.

"I believe in Jace, I believed in him from the first time I met him," coach Buzz Williams said. "He’s easy to cheer for. He’s incredibly consistent as a worker."

Teammate Manny Obaseki also raved about Carter.

"Jace has been working every single day," he said. "There’s no surprise to it when he’s making shots because he’s been working."

Carter said he was helped this week by having more practice time at home after the Aggies had played their previous four games on the road.

"Probably the second shot I was feeling good," he said. "My teammates instill so much confidence in me. They’re always telling me to keep shooting."

The Aggies were up by 13 with about eight minutes left in the first half before they scored the next 17 points to make it 54-24 five minutes later. Hayden Hefner scored eight points, with two 3-pointers, in that stretch.

Hefner added 10 points and Andersson Garcia scored nine for the Aggies.

DePaul (1-7) was led by Chico Carter Jr., who had 21 points. The Blue Demons lost their fifth straight and for the seventh time in eight games this season.

The Aggies had just four turnovers compared to 15 by DePaul. Texas A&M’s first turnover didn’t come until the 12:59 mark of the second half.

This performance comes after they had 16 turnovers in a 59-47 loss at Virginia in their last game.

"We lose at Virginia because we had the highest turnover rate we had," Williams said. "If we can play with a low turnover rate, it impacts us so much."

BIG PICTURE

The Aggies bounced back nicely from their loss to Virginia, but will face much tougher competition in their upcoming games as they get a visit from Memphis on Sunday before a matchup against No. 3 Houston Dec. 16.

UP NEXT

DePaul: Hosts Louisville on Saturday.

Texas A&M: Hosts Memphis on Sunday.