Sophomore forward and guard Savion Flagg led Texas A&M in scoring and rebounds for the third straight game with 22 points and nine rebounds in the Aggies’ 87-80 victory over Arkansas in Fayetteville on Saturday.
A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said the team was able to come out on top despite the ups and downs in the first half.
“[I’m] proud of our guys because it wasn’t a pretty game, but I thought we figured out a way to win,” Kennedy said. “We made enough plays in that stretch to pull away in that second half, and that was critical.”
The Aggies have won four out of their last five games and have now earned their first win in Arkansas since the 1986 season.
A&M improves to 12-14 overall and 5-9 in the SEC, while the Razorbacks take their fourth straight loss and tumble to 14-13 on the season and 5-9 in conference play.
From the start, A&M found success with junior guard Wendell Mitchell after he hit a pair of three-pointers for the Aggies’ first lead of the contest, followed by a layup in the paint from senior forward Christian Mekowulu.
The Aggies trailed for the next 15 minutes until Arkansas freshman forward Reggie Chaney fouled Mitchell from beyond the arc. This sent Chaney to the free throw line to recapture the Razorbacks’ lead with 4:16 left in the first half.
However, this 30-28 lead would be the last time the Razorbacks controlled the scoreboard. A&M went into the locker room ahead 38-37, with Flagg and Mitchell both leading the offense with nine points apiece.
Going into the second half, A&M hit the ground running with a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper from Mitchell to extend the lead to six.
A&M saw its biggest lead of the game with 1:50 left in the game after three consecutive layups from sophomore guard TJ Starks to make it 77-66.
Mekowulu, Flagg and junior forward Josh Nebo dominated the boards, combining for 20 of the 35 rebounds for A&M, while the Razorbacks finished with 25.
Sophomore center Daniel Gafford led Arkansas in both scoring and rebounds with 23 points and 13 rebounds for his 11th double-double of the season.
Mitchell followed Flagg in points, scoring 20 points and shooting 3-of-5 at the three-point line.
Mitchell credited his performance to staying calm and looking to his teammates for confidence.
“I’m just relaxed, just trying to stay confident and just feed off my teammates,” Mitchell said. “It opens up my teammates also because the defense collapses on me more.”
The Aggies will have another game on the road at LSU on Tuesday, A&M will tipoff against the Tigers on ESPN2 at 8 p.m.