News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
The Texas A&M men’s basketball team held off a late charge by Oklahoma to register a 75-71 victory over the Sooners Saturday evening inside the Lloyd Noble Center.
Oklahoma (13-14, 3-11 SEC) went on a 10-2 run late to cut Texas A&M’s lead to 72-71 with 26 seconds remaining, but Rashaun Agee hit two from the charity stripe and after Dayton Forsythe missed a potential game-tying shot from bonus land, Rylan Griffen connected on one of two from the free throw line with eight seconds remaining to put the contest away.
Agee powered the Aggies (19-8, 9-5 SEC) with 18 points and seven rebounds. Griffen added 14 points, five rebounds and three steals. Zach Clemence stuffed the stats sheet with nine points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
In a contest with minimal runs, the Maroon & White played from behind for just 10 seconds but never led by more than nine points. The Aggies owned a 32-12 advantage in points in the paint and they took care of the ball committing just five turnovers, including two in the second half.
Texas A&M never trailed in the first half, but was unable to pull away, nursing a 43-41 lead at the intermission. The Maroon & White scored the first eight points of the game before Oklahoma evened the score on three occasions, including 24-24 at the 7:55 mark. Texas A&M rattled in 7-of-14 (50.0%) from beyond the arc. Agee powered Ol’ Sarge’s charges through the opening act with 12 points and four rebounds.
The Sooners grabbed their only lead of the contest two minutes into the second half when Nigel Pack drained his first 3-pointer of the game. Griffen answered from triple town 10 seconds later, sparking a 13-4 A&M surge, resulting in a 56-48 lead at the 13:00 mark. The teams traded blows for the next seven minutes and the Aggies led 70-61 with 6:16 remaining before the Sooners’ last charge.
The charity stripe kept Oklahoma in striking distance the entire game. The Sooners made 20-of-24 (83.3%) from the free throw line while Texas A&M made just 11-of-20 (55.0%).
UP NEXT
The Aggies remain on the road for Wednesday’s 8 p.m. contest against the No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks inside Bud Walton Arena. The game airs on ESPN2.