Quenton Jackson scored a career-high 28 points, and Texas A&M's defense keyed a decisive first-half run as the Aggies waylaid visiting New Orleans 82-53 on Sunday afternoon in College Station, Texas.

The Aggies ran away from New Orleans over the final eight minutes of the first half and led by 17 points at halftime. Texas A&M was up by as many as 29 points and never led the Privateers (0-2) get closer than 15 points through a workman-like final 20 minutes.

Jackson, a senior whose career-best scoring game was 20 last season, was 11 of 13 from the field. Andre Gordon added 15 points for Texas A&M (1-0) with freshman Hassan Diarra hitting for 14 points in his first collegiate game.

Savion Flagg, the Aggies' top returning scorer, had just 9 points but took a game-high 11 rebounds.

Ladarius Marshall scored 14 points to lead the Privateers (0-2), with Troy Green hitting for 11 and Damion Rosser adding 10 points.

Both teams struggled in the early going, as the Privateers led 15-14 after a dunk by Rosser at the 8:09 mark of the first half. But falling behind seemed to get Texas A&M's attention, and the Aggies reeled off a 12-0 run over the ensuing three and a half minutes to assume a 26-15 advantage.

The Aggies continued to expand on their lead, outscoring New Orleans 15-9 through the half's final four minutes to take a 41-24 lead to intermission.

Jackson racked up 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the half to lead all scorers, with Gordon adding 11 points for the Aggies. Texas A&M outshot New Orleans 54 percent to 42 percent over the first 20 minutes, and hit eight 3-pointers to just two for the Privateers.

Marshall paced New Orleans with 10 points off the bench in the first half.

--Field Level Media