Texas A&M men’s basketball earned their second consecutive win on Tuesday with a 73-56 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs, generating the Aggies’ first win streak since December.
A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said the win came down to the team’s poise on the court.
“They had to take some chances, and we moved the ball better than we have against pressure,” Kennedy said.
The Aggies move to 10-13 overall and 3-8 against Southeastern Conference opponents with their first home SEC win, while the Bulldogs are now 10-14 overall and 1-10 in conference play.
“Finally getting a conference win at home is big,” Chandler said. “We’ve just got to keep pushing.”
Senior forward Christian Mekowulu earned his second-straight double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore guard TJ Starks led A&M in scoring with 19 points, with sophomore guard Jay Jay Chandler following with 18.
Sophomore forward Nicolas Claxton was Georgia’s leading scorer with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Following Claxton was junior guard Jordan Harris with 10 points and sophomore guard Teshaun Hightower with nine.
A nine-point scoring run by Chandler halfway through the first half put A&M up 20-14 and gave them a permanent lead.
By halftime, A&M had a healthy 34-21 lead over the Bulldogs. The Aggies held Georgia to a shooting percentage of just 28.6 percent in the first half, allowing only 8 of 28.
The Aggies kept Georgia at bay throughout the second half, allowing them to shoot only 43.5 percent. Second half performance is something that has hurt the Aggies in games past, and Chandler said that was key to their win over Georgia.
“We stayed connected,” Chandler said. “Finishing the game, that’s been our main thing that’s been affecting our team — just finishing games out and just fighting and getting the win.”
A&M saw the return, albeit brief, of freshman forward John Walker III, though junior forward Josh Nebo was still out with an MCL sprain. Walker played only seven minutes, going 1-of-1 to give A&M two points.
The Aggies will next take the court on Feb. 16 at 12 p.m. in South Carolina. The Gamecocks are 12-11 overall and 7-3 against SEC opponents. Kennedy said he hopes the two back-to-back wins will help the team moving forward.
“Hopefully we got a lot of confidence,” Kennedy said. “I think we’re playing with more confidence; we’re playing better together. Now we’ve got to go to South Carolina and play against a team that is the most physical team we’ve played.”