Texas A&M men’s basketball faced Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday, Nov. 25, in Reed Arena for its fourth consecutive home game. Fresh off of a pair of victories at home and fighting through early-season bumps, the Aggies took home the win, 120-84.
With the beatdown, A&M marked back-to-back 100-plus-point games in front of the 12th Man after its 109-68 victory over Manhattan on Nov. 21. The performance also marked a record for the most points scored at Reed Arena in program history. It was the second-most points scored by the Aggies in school history, only topped by a 127-point effort against Houston Baptist in 1975.
The Aggies’ offense has been on a wave this season, levitating over the 80-plus point mark in five of its first seven games. With new additions and new debuts, A&M has tried to piece together wins, even with little bonding.
“It’s got to get more experience with those guys out there,” coach Bucky McMillan said. “Just the chemistry, something … something’s off.”
As the first half commenced, the ball seemed to be burning in the Delta Devils’ hands as they surrendered 18 turnovers in the first half alone. The Aggies took hold of those mistakes, converting 17 of the 18 into points.
In the opening frame the Aggies found most of their success beyond the arc,with nearly half — 46% — of their points coming from 3-pointers.
Junior forward Mackenzie Mgbako, in his second game for the Maroon and White and first extended run of action after playing just four minutes against Manhattan, put up 13 points in the first half, which contributed to A&M’s 52-35 push over Mississippi Valley State as it entered halftime.
“Anytime you sit out and you come back and you’re able to make all your free throws, you pick up for three, five or nine from the field, support it pretty well, obviously, that’s great,” McMillan said. “He’s all about winning. He’s all about wanting to be out there and help the team.”
Second-half scoring came from the strength of a Fightin’ Farmer trio. Graduate student forward Zach Clemence put up back-to-back 3-pointers, injecting energy into the crowd after halftime. Sophomore guard Rubén Dominguez, who set a school record in his last outing with the most 3-pointers made in a single game, sunk both of his free-throw attempts, while graduate student guard Marcus Hill rounded out the trio by chipping in six points for himself and extending the lead.
The Delta Devils let their pitchforks dim, scoring only five points in the first four minutes of the half. While they continued to miss the net, they gave the Aggies the go-ahead to widen the gap to a 42-point lead at one point in the second half.
A&M found itself behind the free-throw line often and took advantage of it with 35% of its total scoring coming from the line.
“We’re getting the free-throw line.” McMillian said. “We shot 50 free throws. That’s pretty good.”
Despite the defeating loss, Mississippi Valley State is going back with a record of its own, putting up the most points against a Division I opponent during the tenure of coach George Ivory. Luckily the Aggies’ offense was able to hold it down in a final score of 120-84.
As A&M is still just at the dawn of its season and continues to build early-season momentum, it begins to get more into the teeth of its schedule with two tests away from home against Atlantic Coast Conference squads in the next week.
“It’s very critical,” Mgbako said. “I mean, it’s very mental right now. We got to stay locked in.”
A&M hits the road for the second time this season for its first neutral-site game to take on the Florida State Seminoles at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, Nov. 28 at 4 p.m.
