Aggies Rally to Knock off Tennessee in Knoxville

Saturday, January 9

Knoxville, Tenn.

12:00 PM

Texas A&M

13-2, 3-0SEC

Tennessee

8-7, 1-2SEC

Texas A&M

Tennessee

Jan 09, 2016 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Associated Press/Texas A&M Media Relations

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP)-- Jalen Jones scored 27 points and made a tiebreaking basket with 1:28 left, helping No. 21 Texas A&M erase a 13-point, second-half deficit and beat Tennessee 92-88 on Saturday for its sixth straight victory.

Tennessee (8-7, 1-2 SEC) was up by 10 with just over four minutes left when Texas A&M (13-2, 3-0) ran off 11 straight points.

Texas A&M was clinging to a 90-88 lead in the closing seconds when a shot off a drive by Tennessee's Kevin Punter went off the rim. The Volunteers kept possession and got the ball to Detrick Mostella, whose 3-point attempt went around and out with about 10 seconds left.

Danuel House scored 23 points and sank two free throws with six seconds to go to seal the victory. Punter scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half.

House came off the bench for Texas A&M after missing the Aggies' victory over Mississippi State on Wednesday. An athletic department official at the time attributed his absence to personal matter.

Caruso had 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals for Texas A&M. Tyler Davis added 11 points.

Admiral Schofield scored 16 points, Shembari Phillips had a career-high 15, Devon Baulkman and Mostella each added 11 and Robert Hubbs had 10 for Tennessee, which lost at home for the first time this season.

Tennessee led by at least six points for most of the second half and extended the margin to 84-74 on Punter's two free throws with 4:13 left when the Aggies turned the game around.

Texas A&M converted Caruso's steal into a Tyler Davis layup with 2:12 left, capping an 11-0 run that gave the Aggies their first lead since the opening minutes. Schofield made one of two free throws to make it 85-all with 1:41 remaining before Jones scored in the paint to put Texas A&M up 87-85 with 1:28 left.

Caruso made one more steal on Tennessee's next possession, and Anthony Collins sank two free throws to make it 89-85 with 46 seconds left. Punter cut the margin to one on a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left. Caruso made one of two free throws with 24.2 seconds left to set up Tennessee's last opportunity to regain the lead.

Texas A&M Basketball
Postgame Notes
#21 Texas A&M 92, Tennessee 88
Jan. 9, 2016 ? Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, Tenn.)

RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
? Texas A&M won its sixth consecutive game Saturday, defeating Tennessee 92-88 in Knoxville to push the Aggies' record on the season to 13-2 with a perfect 3-0 mark in SEC play.
? A&M's 3-0 beginning to SEC competition matches its best start since joining the league … A&M also began the 2013-14 SEC season with a similar 3-0 start in conference play.
? The Aggies have now won four consecutive games against Tennessee including three meetings inside Tompson-Boliing Arena to tie the all-time series with the Volunteers at 5-5.

TEAM NOTES
? Trailing 84-74 with 4:13 to play, the Aggies ended the game on an 18-4 run to complete the comeback. ? Texas A&M trailed by as many as 13 in the contest and took their first lead since the first-period's 18:24 mark on a lay-up by Tyler Davis with 2:12 to play which left the score 85-84 Aggies ... Texas A&M would maintain the lead the remainder of the contest, making 5-of-6 free throws in the game's final 46 seconds.
? Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Anthony Collins, Alex Caruso, D.J. Hogg, Jalen Jones and Tyler Davis for the second time this season (2-0).

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
? Texas A&M saw two players score 20 or more points (Jalen Jones [27] and Danuel House [23]) for the first time since Jones and House combined to accomplish the feat against Youngstown State last season (12/13/14).
? For Jones, the performance was the fifth time he's eclipsed the 20-point plateau this season … He was 10-of-15 from the floor and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line while adding a team-high seven boards.
? House made 8-of-15 field goal attempts in the contest, including a pair of 3-point baskets.
? Senior Alex Caruso contributed 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals in the win.
? Senior Anthony Collins hit a pair of free throws with 45.7 seconds remaining in the contest to extend the A&M lead to 89-85 and remain perfect from free throw line on the year (20-for-20) … Collins also dished out a game-high nine assists vs. the Vols.
? Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy improved to 84-63 in his fifth season at Texas A&M and 295-242 in 18 seasons as head coach.

UP NEXT
? The Aggies return to the friendly confines of Reed Arena on Tuesday when they host Florida in a 6 p.m. contest that will be televised by SEC Network.