Behind Rashaun Agee’s 23, Texas A&M pulls away from Miss. State
Rashaun Agee scored a season-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead a balanced Texas A&M attack as the Aggies rolled to an 88-68 win over slumping Mississippi State on Wednesday in a Southeastern Conference game in College Station, Texas.
Texas A&M (15-4, 5-1 SEC) led by 11 points at halftime and never let the Bulldogs in the game in the second half. The Aggies expanded their advantage to 19 points on a three-point play by Ali Dibba with 9:03 left and cruised to the finish line, winning their second straight game and their eighth in their past nine contests.
Agee went 9-for-9 from the free throw line in the victory while Rylan Griffen added 15 points and Jacari Lane and Pop Issacs hit for 10 each for A&M. The Aggies had just three turnovers in the victory and none over the final 24 minutes.
Brandon Walker led the Bulldogs with a season-high 16 points off the bench. King Grace had 13 points, Josh Hubbard added 12 and Jayden Epps 11. Achor Achor grabbed 10 rebounds for Mississippi State (10-9, 2-4), which has dropped four straight games.
After a tight initial five minutes, a three-point play by Agee tied the game at 10-10. A&M led 15-12 before six straight points by the Bulldogs put MSU back in front as the lead continued to change hands.
The game was knotted at 21-21 until the Aggies reeled off a 13-2 run capped by 3-pointers by Griffen and Lane, the latter at the 6:05 mark of the first half. Mississippi State cut its deficit to 42-33 on Achor's dunk with 1:10 to play until halftime but the Aggies answered on a pair of free throws by Agee with 23 seconds left and carried a 44-33 advantage into the break.
Griffen and Agee paced the way for Texas A&M with 11 points over the first 20 minutes of play while Hubbard had eight points to lead the Bulldogs. A&M held its largest halftime lead in its six SEC games this season despite shooting just 37.8% from the floor. The Aggies forced six Mississippi State turnovers that they converted into eight points to help hold sway against the visitors.