30-second shot clock? No problem.
Texas A&M defeated Montana 81-64 Tuesday night in Reed Arena in what was the Aggies second highest offensive performance in the past three months.
Junior forward Jalen Jones led the way for the Aggies with 25 points, shooting 10-for-14 from the field and 3-for-4 from outside the arc, while grabbing eight rebounds. Alex Robinson galloped to a 15-point performance, which is a career high for the freshman point guard.
The Aggies (21-11) took advantage of the Grizzlies lack in size early, scoring 16 of their first 18 points from inside the paint. After Robinson made his second 3-pointer of the night, A&M took its biggest lead at 33-15 at the 5-minute mark, but Montana would not go away just yet.
Montana (20-13) sophomore guard Brandon Gfeller heated up as the half finished, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to cut the halftime deficit to 38-33. The Grizzlies carried this momentum into the second outing, snagging the first five points to tie the contest. With 13:30 left, Gfeller punished the Aggies with another three, this time to take Montana’s first lead at 43-41. Gfeller started 6-for-7 from three, and ended with 18 points, just two shy of Montana’s leading scorer, Jordan Gregory.
In its last two outings, A&M saw two double-digit halftime leads diminish and slip out of its hands. This time, the Aggies squandered an 18-point lead, but Jordan Green refused to allow another misfortune in what could have been his last game in an Aggie jersey.
From 14:22 to 12:17, Green went on to score nine straight Aggie points, giving them a two-point advantage. The senior guard accumulated 15 points, while tallying six rebounds and six assists. After his offensive spurt, A&M never looked back.
After Gfeller’s final three put his Grizzlies on top 48-46, the Aggies proceeded to go on a 22-3 run, capped off by a right corner Peyton Allen three and an Alex Caruso alley-oop.
The second round will be played against 3-seed Louisiana Tech in Reed Arena sometime this weekend.