COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Josh Nebo scored 17 points on 5-for-5 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds and collected four blocks as Texas A&M wiped out a 10-point halftime deficit and defeated Ole Miss 57-47 on Tuesday night.
The Rebels leaped to a 29-19 halftime lead thanks to Breein Tyree’s hot hand and the Aggies’ collective cold shooting. Tyree scored 21 points in the first half, thanks to sinking 8-of-10 field goals, including 5-of-7 3-pointers. Meantime the Aggies missed all 10 of their 3-point attempts in the first 20 minutes, and finished 3-of-17 from long range.
Tyree entered the contest averaging 16.5 points per game, good for seventh in the SEC. But the Aggies (7-6, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) figured out how to minimize the guard, and went on a hot streak of their own to start the second half, in outscoring the Rebels 15-3 to grab a 34-32 lead with about 12 minutes remaining in the game.
Tyree led the Rebels (9-5, 0-1) with 26 points. Emanuel Miller finished with nine rebounds for the Aggies. The Aggies had started SEC play with a loss at Arkansas on Saturday, while the Rebels played their first conference game after a loss at Wichita State on Saturday.
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M rallied in the second half to defeat Ole Miss, 57-47, Tuesday at Reed Arena to move to 7-6 (1-1 SEC) on the season.
- The Aggies are now 7-3 all-time against the Rebels.
- Texas A&M is 5-0 against Ole Miss inside Reed Arena.
TEAM NOTES
- After being down 32-21 early into the second half, a Josh Nebo and-one at 17:31 sparked the start of a 15-0 run, helping the Aggies regain the lead just over the 12-minute mark.
- The Aggies held the Rebel offense to 21.2% (7-of-33) shooting in the second half, the lowest percentage by an opposing team in a half this season.
- Texas A&M shot 54.5% (12-of-22) from the field in the second half, tallying the best shooting half since the season opener’s second half against Northwestern State.
- The Aggies shot 84.2% (16-of-19) from the line, the best free-throw performance this season.
- The Maroon & White outscored the Rebels, 24-14, in the paint.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Savion Flagg, Wendell Mitchell, Emanuel Miller, Andre Gordon, and Josh Nebo for the first time this season (2-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Josh Nebo led the Aggies scoring a season-high 17 points off a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe.
- The Houston native recorded four blocks, maintaining his second overall spot on the NCAA active career shot-blocker list with 248.
- Savion Flagg scored 11 points, marking the seventh game of the season with 10-or-more points.
- Wendell Mitchell recorded all nine of his points in the second half, helping spark the Aggie comeback.
- Jay Jay Chandler grabbed five rebounds, tying a season-high set against Northwestern State.
- Buzz Williams is 7-6 in his first season at Texas A&M and 260-161 in his 13 seasons as a head coach.
UP NEXT
The Aggies travel to Nashville, Tennessee to take on Vanderbilt Saturday at 2:30 pm
Texas A&M Quotes
Head Coach Buzz Williams
On Wendell Mitchell’s recent performance…
“He’s the most pure player I’ve coached in a long time. He’s not polluted by voices that are inconsequential. He was 1,000%, in my opinion, raised on the right morals, values and work ethic. It’s his fifth year in college and he’s had four coaching staffs. He’s been 10 toes in from the very beginning. When he was playing a lot, he was the most vocal guy in the program. And when he was not playing near as much, he was the most vocal guy in the program. As an Aggie, he would be one of the first student-athletes I would interview for a job. He’s built on the right stuff, and you can trust him when things are going perfect, and you can trust him when things are not.”
On the team’s performance relative to his energy on the sideline…
“I think those kids care about one another. I think they try for one another. And I think that no matter how many setbacks or pitfalls, whatever the word may be, I think they still compete with all they have. All I’m trying to do is help them. If I thought that drawing up a play would help them, then I would study a lot of plays. I just try to give as much energy to them relative to the energy that is required of them for it to potentially be a game. In some ways, I thought the best way for me to help them was to be their biggest cheerleader.”
Forward Josh Nebo
On the improvement that the team showed in the second half…
“It’s a product of all the stuff we’ve been doing in practice all week. We’ve been really getting after it in practice and really working hard. We all knew it was going to eventually translate. We got off to a slow start, but we knew all the work we’ve been putting in was going to come to life.”
On the importance of the team’s first SEC win…
“I felt like it meant a lot to this team to pick up their first win, especially with all the young guys. It’s their first time coming through SEC play, and just for them to see and know that we can actually win is huge for our confidence going forward.”
Guard Wendell Mitchell
On what his performance meant to him…
“I just come in and do what my teammates want me to do, and that’s score and be a team player and try to get people involved and really keeping everybody level. Making sure that the young guys, as well as the returning guys, are ready to play. In the second half, we had to fight. We were down 10, and we just had to find areas where we could improve on immediately.”
On if the team feeds off of Coach Williams’ energy…
“Most definitely. We love that about Coach. He’s very up tempo. When he gets going, he gets going. You either go with him, or it’s going to be a little too much for you. So, we just roll with it.”
Ole Miss Quotes
Head Coach Kermit Davis
Opening Statement…
“Just give a lot of credit to Buzz [Williams], his staff, and his players. I felt that they competed really, really hard. In the first half we competed better. Breein [Tyree] got going. He had 21. When he got out of the game, our team has had struggles like that offensively all year long. The amount of points is not good. We were 18-for-60. But like I said, give Texas A&M a lot of credit. Their team is really improving, they’re a tough group together, and they’re going to be a tough out for a lot of teams right here.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics