No. 12 Texas A&M beats Houston Christian 77-45

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) Hayden Hefner had 19 points and fellow guard Manny Obaseki scored 13 as No. 12 Texas A&M defeated Houston Christian 77-45 on Friday.

The Aggies (10-2) built a double-digit lead with 6:50 remaining in the first half on a tip-in by Jaelyn Lee and never glanced back. They shot 47% from the field.

Houston Christian shot a season-worst 2 of 20 from the 3-point line. D’Aundre Samuels led the Huskies (4-8) with 12 points, their only player in double digits.

The Aggies played without star guard Wade Taylor IV, who missed the contest with a minor injury and is expected back soon.

Texas A&M: This is the kind of game that has given the Aggies fits in the past, evidenced by a 67-62 home loss to Wofford two years ago. But this team continues to take care of business.

Houston Christian: The Huskies’ seven previous games all had been decided by seven points or less. This 32-point loss should help toughen the Huskies for the heart of Southland play, which cranks up in earnest on Jan. 4 at Lamar.

Nearly three minutes into the second half, Hefner collected a steal, dribbled the length of the court, shrugged off a defender with a fake pass and finished with a slam dunk in lifting the Aggies to an insurmountable 41-23 lead. Texas A&M had only led by 12 points two minutes earlier.

The larger, hustling Aggies overwhelmed the Huskies down low, in more than doubling up the visitors in rebounding at 52-25.

The Aggies will have a few days to enjoy the holidays before hosting Abilene Christian on Dec. 28. The Huskies stay on the road and visit North Texas on Sunday.

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