Junior guard Savion Flagg and senior forward Josh Nebo each scored 14 points to help Texas A&M defeat Missouri on the road 66-64.
The win moved A&M to ninth place in the SEC with a 3-3 conference record and a 9-8 overall record. Missouri’s loss moves the Tigers down to 12th place in the SEC with a 1-5 conference record and a 9-9 overall record.
The game was tightly contested from tipoff because neither team could develop a lead larger than one score until six minutes into the game, when A&M led 12-8 on a Flagg three-point shot. After leading 16-8, Missouri answered with a 12-0 run consisting of two three-pointers.
The Aggies went through a 10 minute scoring drought, but finally got some points back on the board with a Flagg three-point. Both teams continued to score in rapid succession, and Missouri led A&M at the end of the first half, 32-27.
Missouri finished the first half making only 36 percent of its field goal attempts. However, the Tigers converted 35 percent of their 14 shots from behind the arc. A&M was able to shoot better from the field, converting 38 percent of its field goal attempts, but didn’t shoot as well from behind the three-point line, draining only 33 percent of nine attempts.
The deciding factor for both teams was free throw shooting. Missouri converted all 11 attempts at the line while the Aggies sank only four of their six attempts at the line.
With both teams shooting relatively similar from the field, the end was decided by who would shoot better in the closing seconds. This time, the Aggies answered the call.
In the first eight minutes of the second half, the Aggies went on a 19-8 run to lead 46-40. A&M made several three-point shots in that run, and Nebo had four points off of two dunks.
Eventually, Missouri brought the lead back down to two points at 46-44. Both teams continued to trade scores as the Aggies led 53-49 with 3:57 left in the game. A&M went on a 9-4 run to lead Missouri 62-53 with 1:41 left in the game, but this was quickly followed by a 9-1 run from Missouri that brought the Aggies’ lead back down to one with 29 seconds left.
After turning the ball over on a second chance opportunity, Missouri was forced to foul. This led to two free throws from Emanuel Miller, who drained them both. The Tigers answered with two free throws of their own. At 65-64 and with two seconds left, Missouri guard Mark Smith fouled Miller again. This time, Miller only made one of his two free throws.
After taking a timeout, Missouri guard Torrence Watson missed a three-pointer as time ran out, ending a close game and a bad shooting night for the team.
A&M ended the night converting 45 percent of its field goal attempts and 35 percent from behind the three-point line. This was propelled by a big second half where the Aggies shot 52 percent from the floor and 38 percent from the three-point line.
Flagg had 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 2-of-5 from behind the three-point line. His six rebounds were also tied for team-high. Nebo converted 5-of-6 field goal attempts and 4-of-7 free throw shots. Miller scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shots from the field and converted 3-of-4 important free throws that iced the game for A&M.
Meanwhile, Missouri ended up shooting 30 percent from the floor and 26 percent from behind the three-point line, a result that was affected by the Tigers shooting 25 percent from the field and 16 percent from the three-point line in the second half.
Missouri was led by the duo of Mark Smith and Dru Smith. Mark scored 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting and 5-of-13 from the three-point line. Dru scored 18 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and went a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. He also led the team with eight assists in the defeat.
The Aggies will return home to Reed Arena on Jan. 26 as they look to extend their win streak against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 vs. SEC challenge. The game starts at 3 p.m. and is available to stream via WatchESPN.