The Texas A&M men’s basketball team continued its SEC play on Saturday as they visited Columbia, Missouri to take on the Tigers.
Both teams were short-handed, as the Aggies were without forwards Josh Nebo and John Walker III, while Missouri was without forward Jeremiah Tilmon.
The Aggies, who were on a three-game losing streak, six straight in the SEC — ended the streak by knocking off Missouri on the road, 68-59. The win puts the Aggies at 9-13 (2-8 SEC) on the season, while the Tigers fall to 11-11 (2-8 SEC). The Aggies grabbed their second SEC win and are now 2-3 on the road and winless at home in conference play.
“I just felt like we came out here and played hard,” junior guard Wendell Mitchell said in a video posted by the team on Twitter. “We played with a lot of effort and just allowed ourselves to convert. Down the stretch, we just converted and just let the game come to us.”
It was a slow start for both teams, but especially the Aggies after they only scored 21 points in the first half on 38 percent shooting from the field and 22 percent from three point range.
The Tigers jumped ahead 15-7 before the Aggies went on a 9-2 run to make it 17-16. Mizzou finished the half on a 13-5 run to take the nine-point lead at the break.
The Aggies came out strong in the second half, grabbing the lead at 46-44 when sophomore forward Savion Flagg hit a three with 7:21 left in the half.
A&M continued to outplay the Tigers in the second half, stretching the lead to 11 before taking the nine-point win. The Aggies outscored the Tigers 47-29 in the second half as they shot 49 percent from the field and 33 percent from three in the period.
Five players scored for the Aggies, with Mitchell, senior forward Christian Mekowulu and sophomore guard TJ Starks leading the way. Mitchell scored 20 points, while Mekowulu racked up 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Starks had 15 points and three assists.
“I’m just really confident in my teammates to get me involved,” Mitchell said. “I’m playing off them mostly. TJ came through strong at the end of the game. He was finding everybody and making the right reads.”
Missouri shot four free throws all game and was led by freshman guard Javon Pickett, senior guard Jordan Geist and freshman guard Torrence Watson.
Pickett led the team with 15 points and Geist had 12 points and four assists, while Watson had 12 points and four rebounds.
The Aggies will try to break their home losing skid as they welcome Georgia to Reed Arena on Tuesday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.