Different opponent. Same outcome.

Texas A&M cruised past Northern Kentucky in the first 100-point game of the 2026-27 season at Reed Arena as the story of the evening was the return of guard Rylan Griffen, who was available for his team.

After the matchup, head coach Bucky McMillan said Griffen could play and was pleased to see him back on the court after missing him at home against North Alabama.

"He recently got a TRO," McMillan said. "He's allowed to play with us. I can't talk more about it, but we are glad to have him back. The legal stuff, I have to stay out of."

In Griffen's fifth and final season, he posted eight points in his first action back; in the opening minute, he stopped on the court and knocked down a triple, with the 12th Man rejoicing that he was back with the Aggies.

At the end of the night, his presence was a big boost as the team shot 55 percent from the field, 41 percent from three and 59 percent at the free-throw line.

Second Straight Win

In A&M’s first period, the offense was hot off the bat, generating 11 straight points to get the entire arena on its feet early.

During that 11-0 run, most of the scoring came from guard Jordan Pope, who scored two layups and a jumper, with help from forwards Jalen Shelley and Cade Phillips, who added a few layups and jumpers to set the tone for the rest of the game.

A&M never gave up the lead; the biggest run was 14-0, and the biggest lead reached 37 points.

A third of Northern Kentucky’s 32 points at halftime came from shooting guard Willie Foster, one of the hardest players to slow down on head coach Darrin Horn’s team.

Going into the locker room, the Norse offense was shooting just 34 percent from the field and not making as many 3-pointers as it would have liked, with only three falling. What kept them in the game was their ability to get to the free throw line after the Aggies kept fouling, as Griffen was in foul trouble with two going to the break.

That second half saw a couple of runs that carried A&M through the rest of the game. One of those moments was the 15-2 run, which helped extend the lead.

In that stretch, the Aggies got a handful of playmakers heated up in five minutes, starting with veteran Zach Clemence, who muscled in a layup.

Afterward, guard Neiko Mindey posted his first points of the season with a jumper.

Forward Josh Irving and guard Tyshawn Archie arguably made the highlights of the night by climbing the ladder for two straight dunks, energizing the 12th Man. Pope kept the momentum going by nailing a free throw and converting a layup. Phillips capped the run with an easy layup.

In the second period, forward Mackenzie Mgbako and Phillips scored the first five before the defense allowed six of the next nine points. Despite making only four 3s in the first 20 minutes, A&M found a way to create havoc and doubled that total as Mgbako, Shelley, Haggerty, and Pope all buried triples.

After a few scoring exchanges, the Northern Kentucky defense began to fall apart as a 12-0 run wore down many of the players on the court. During that scoring drought, the A&M offense picked up the pace in a combined effort from Archie, Clemence, Shelley, and Mgbako that extended the lead to 85-56.

"I felt that was one of Mackenzie's best games, and I know he missed layups, but he passed the ball so well in that game," McMillan said.

With under five minutes left, a 14-0 run was the exclamation point as Northern Kentucky couldn't respond; points in the paint, points off turnovers, and scoring over 100 points was another piece to the storyline.

"We were so unselfish tonight," McMillan mentioned. "It's so fun to coach, and it's so fun to play that way as a player. I was proud of how we played."

Next up for A&M is another home battle against Louisana Monore at Reed Arena, starting at 7 p.m. on SEC Network+.