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March Madness: Aggies Down Big vs. Penn State at Halftime

The Texas A&M Aggies had no answers for the 3-point shooting from the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first half of Thursday's first-round March Madness matchup.
Zach Dimmitt|
March Madness: Aggies Down Big vs. Penn State at Halftime
March Madness: Aggies Down Big vs. Penn State at Halftime

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Texas A&M Aggies

DES MOINES, IOWA - The Texas A&M Aggies and Penn State Nittany Lions went back and forth during the start of the first half in Thursday's first-round matchup at Wells Fargo Arena.

But behind hot 3-point shooting, the 10th-seeded Nittany Lions led seventh-seeded A&M 38-22 at halftime.

The Aggies got eight first-half points from forward Julius Marble and six from Tyrece Radford, but this was hardly enough to keep pace with the Nittany Lions.

Penn State was led by guard Andrew Funk, who led all scorers at the half with 15 points on 4 of 5 shooting from deep. Elite guard Jalen Pickett added nine points and six assists.

Dexter Dennis had a play of the day candidate in the opening minutes. After Wade Taylor IV fumbled and lost a pass, Dennis sprinted back and  skied for an insane "block" in transition that was essentially him snagging the ball out of the air with both hands.

With momentum on their side, the Aggies took an 11-10 lead a few minutes later.

However, this momentum was short-lived, as Penn State began scorching the net off the rim while A&M went cold.

The Aggies scored just three points over about an eight-minute stretch all while the Nittany Lions hit three triples to build a 12-point lead at 27-15.

A&M finally scored again, as Tyrece Radford hit a 3 of his own. But Funk stayed hot, swishing another triple from the corner - his fourth of the half - as Penn State built a commanding 16-point lead.

The lead remained 16 at the half, as the Aggies found themselves in some trouble.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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