After another explosive second half run, the Texas A&M (13-5, 4-2 SEC) men’s basketball went into Knoxville and took down the Tennessee Volunteers (12-6, 4-2 SEC) 67-61, winning its fourth game in a row.
Both teams struggled to score in the first half, shooting a combined 17-of-54 from the field. Texas A&M led for most of the first, going on a 10-0 run and heading into the half with the 25-23 lead over the Vols.
The Aggies once again came alive in the second half, surging out of the half on a 20-6 run. Tennessee wouldn’t be put away that easily at home, responding with a 8-0 run of their own to cut the Aggies lead to 45-36 at the 10:30 mark in the second half.
Tennessee continued to chip away at the Aggie lead. Leading Tennessee scorer Josh Richardson retaliated with a three-point shot at the 1:50 mark, cutting the Aggies lead to 60-55.
Once again, House was sent to the line and made both free throws with 19.2 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Josh Richardson made a quick three pointer to cut the lead to 65-61 with 9.2 seconds remaining. However, the Volunteers failed to get back on defense as Jordan Green threw down a fast-break dunk off the assist from Danuel House.
Texas A&M won the battle in the paint with a 30-10 point advantage over the Vols in post scoring. The Aggies were also efficient off the break, scoring 10 points and holding Tennessee scoreless on fast-break opportunities.
The scoring tandem of Jalen Jones, House and Alex Caruso came up big for the Aggies.
Jones finished the game going 8-of-13 for 18 points and nine rebounds. Since coming back from an ankle injury, Jones is now averaging nearly 17 points and eight rebounds in the last four contests.
House played the part of the maestro, dishing out six assists along with his 15 points on 4-of-12 shooting. House has come up big for the Aggies from the foul line in late game situations, making 12-of-12 free throws in the last three matchups.
Billy Kennedy—who has been searching for a scorer to compliment Jones and House— seems to have found his third scorer in Caruso. Caruso— who leads the SEC in assists and assists per game— scored 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, dished out three assists and pulled down six rebounds. Caruso has shot 5-of-8 from behind the arc in the last three matchups.
Tennessee guard Kevin Punter was the main scoring threat for the Vols in Saturday’s matchup, adding 17 points and going 5-of-7 from behind the three-point line.
Josh Richardson and Robert Hubbs III each chipped in 12 points for the Volunteers. Richardson— who leads the team with 16 points per game— was held to just two points in the first half.
Texas A&M is now 3-1 against Tennessee since entering the SEC. The Volunteers now hold a one-game lead in the all-time series against the Aggies at 5-4.
The next time the Aggies hit the court, they will face off against the Auburn Tigers (10-8, 2-3 SEC) and their new head coach Bruce Pearl at 8 p.m. on Tuesday inside Auburn Arena.