ATHENS, Ga. — T.J. Starks scored 15 points and hit the go-head basket with 58 seconds remaining to help Texas A&M eke out a 61-60 victory over Georgia on Wednesday night.
Tyler Davis added 13 points and Admon Gilder and D.J. Hogg each scored 11 for the Aggies (19-11, 8-9 Southeastern Conference). Texas A&M has won two straight, both on the road, heading into its regular season finale on Saturday at home against Alabama.
Yante Maten finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds for Georgia (16-13, 7-10). The Bulldogs led by five with 2:28 remaining but missed their last five shots from the field and did not score again.
It was an ugly ending for Georgia. Starks missed a free throw with 12 seconds remaining and Maten grabbed the rebound. For some reason, the Bulldogs did not call timeout, and Juwan Parker took a wild 3-point attempt from the right side that sailed far from the rim as the buzzer sounded.
Georgia had won three of four to keep its scant NCAA Tournament hopes alive, but it will likely need to upset Tennessee again on Saturday and then make a long run in the league tournament next week. Otherwise, the Bulldogs will be looking, at best, for an NIT bid for the fourth time in the last five years.
Teshaun Hightower, with 11 points, was the only other Georgia player to finish in double figures.
Texas A&M won last Saturday at Vanderbilt to snap a three-game skid and is looking like the team that was ranked as high as No. 7 in December. They dropped out of the poll and have been ranked just once since Jan. 1, but Texas A&M has put itself in position to avoid having to play five straight days to win the SEC Tournament next week and improve its chances of a second NCAA bid in seven years under coach Billy Kennedy.
RECORDS / SERIES NOTES
? Texas A&M defeated Georgia 61-60 Wednesday night at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga. … the win left A&M’s overall record at 19-11 with an 8-9 mark in SEC play.
? The Aggie victory was their third straight over the Bulldogs and left the overall series at 4-3 in favor of UGA.
TEAM NOTES
? The tightly-contested affair featured nine lead changes and five ties … the largest advantage being a nine-point Aggie cushion they built while riding a 7-0 run to close the first half (37-28).
? Texas A&M won the rebounding battle, owning a 47-44 edge on the glass … A&M featured six players with five or more rebounds.
? Additionally, the Aggies owned a 34-16 edge for points in the paint.
? A&M used the starting lineup combination of TJ Starks, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg, Robert Williams and Tyler Davis for the 10th time this season (6-4).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
? Freshman TJ Starks led the Aggies with 15 points while pulling down a career-best seven rebounds to go along with a game-high four assists … it marked the fifth time Starks has paced A&M in scoring.
? Joining Starks in double-figure scoring was Tyler Davis(13 points), Admon Gilder (11) and DJ Hogg (11).
? The performance increased Davis’ career point total to 1,280 in three seasons and moved him passed Rudy Woods (1,272 points from 1978-82) into 15th place on A&M’s all-time scoring list.
? Aggie head coach Billy Kennedy improved to 134-96 during his seven-year tenure at Texas A&M and 345-275 in 20 seasons as a head coach.
UP NEXT
? The Aggies wrap up the regular season Saturday when they host Alabama inside Reed Arena … The game will tip off at 1 p.m. on ESPN2.