COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP)– Senior guard Jalen Jones scored a career-high 28 points and No. 20 Texas A&M beat Arkansas 92-69 on Saturday in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
The Aggies (11-2, 1-0) capitalized on 15 Arkansas turnovers and turned them into 22 points. Senior guard Alex Caruso set the school career record for steals with 230, including two on Saturday. He entered the game tied with guard David Edwards (1991-94) with 228 steals.
Anthlon Bell led Arkansas (6-7, 0-1) with 16 points, while Moses Kingsleyfollowed with 11. The Razorbacks led only once at 13-12 with 11 minutes left in the first half. The Aggies pressed on the accelerator and never let up.
The Aggies built a 47-26 halftime lead despite a lone field goal in that span fromDanuel House, who entered the game as A&M’s leading scorer with 15.3 points per game.
Jones, the team’s second-leading scorer entering the game with a 14.9 average, had no trouble picking up the slack, however, with 16 points in the first half. He finished 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
Arkansas missed all seven of its 3-point attempts in the first half, and finished 6 of 16 from beyond the arc. The aggressive Aggies finished with 11 steals, including two each by Caruso, Jones and guards Anthony Collins and DJ Hogg, compared to only four for the Razorbacks.
Nearly midway through the second half and with A&M holding a 69-40 lead, the Aggies had made half their 3-point attempts (9 of 18) while the Razorbacks had made 20 percent (2 of 10). A&M finished 11 of 26 from the 3-point line.
A&M won its fourth consecutive game after losing 67-54 at Arizona State on Dec. 5, and also made up for an 81-75 loss at Arkansas last February. While Arkansas holds a series advantage of 98-54, the Aggies have won four of six in the rivalry that dates to both programs’ Southwest Conference days starting in 1915.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics