HOUSTON (AP) — Dusan Ristic tied a season-high with 18 points as No. 19 Arizona had to hold off a furious rally by Texas A&M for its fourth straight win, 67-63 on Saturday.
Ristic scored 14 of Arizona’s first 24 points and finished 8 of 12 from the field for the Wildcats (10-2), who shot 40 percent from the field, including 48 percent in the first half.
Lauri Markkanen added 17 points and seven rebounds, and Kobi Simmons chipped in 14 points for the Wildcats.
Tyler Davis had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Robert Williams added 15 points and Admon Gilder had 13 points for the Aggies, who shot 45 percent from the field, including 53 percent in the second half.
Texas A&M (7-3) had its three-game winning streak snapped.
Texas A&M Basketball
Postgame Notes
No. 19 Arizona 67, Texas A&M 63
Dec. 17, 2016 ? Toyota Center (Houston, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
– Texas A&M fell to 7-3 on the season following a 67-63 loss to No. 19 Arizona inside the Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday… All three of the Aggies’ losses this season have come to Pac-12 opponents currently ranked in the top-25.
– The all-time series between the two schools now stands at 7-1 in favor of the Wildcats.
TEAM NOTES
– The Aggies, who entered the game averaging less than 11 turnovers per contest this season (10.8), were guilty of a season-high-tying 14 turnovers.
– Arizona ended the opening period on a 9-0 run to take a 41-28 lead into the intermission.
– Falling behind by as many as 22, the Aggies mounted a furious comeback with an 18-0 run that whittled the Wildcat lead down to just two, 65-63, with 22 seconds to play.
– The Arizona defense held the Aggies to season lows in points (63), 3-point field goals (3).
– Arizona’s three made 3-point field goals were the fewest by an Aggie opponent this season.
– Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of JC Hampton, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg, Tonny Trocha-Morelos and Tyler Davis for the 10th time this season (7-3).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
– Reigning SEC Player of the Week Tyler Davis scored 21 points to reach the 20-point point plateau for the third time in the last four games … The sophomore also added 10 rebounds to claim the fifth double-double of his career, third this season.
– Freshman Robert Williams set his career-high with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting and blocked one shot in the contest to extend his streak to 10 games with at least one block … It stands out as the longest such streak by an Aggie since Bryan Davis has a 17-game block run during the 2009-10 season.
– Joining Davis in double-figure scoring was Admon Gilder (13 points) and DJ Hogg (10 points), marking the fourth game this season that the Aggies had four players score 10-or-more points.
– Tonny Trocha-Morelos matched his career-high with 10 rebounds, the decade mark matches the most by an Aggie this season.
– Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy fell to to 106-73 in his sixth season at Texas A&M and 317-252 in 19 seasons as head coach.
UP NEXT
– Following the showdown with the Wildcats, the Aggies will return to College Station for their final non-conference matchup before SEC play, facing the Saint Francis Red Flash on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics