Texas A&M
South Carolina
A&M Unable to Get By South Carolina on the Road
Feb 16, 2019 | Men's Basketball
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A.J. Lawson had 23 points off six of South Carolina's program record-tying 16 3-pointers to rally past Texas A&M 84-77 on Saturday.
The Gamecocks (13-12, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) trailed by double digits in the first half and were down 45-35 after Savion Flagg opened the second half for Texas A&M with a 3-pointer. Tre Campbell quickly answered for the Gamecocks to start a 29-15 run over the next 13 minutes to take control.
Lawson, the 6-foot-6 freshman, led the way with 13 points after halftime, going 4 of 4 from behind the arc for his second game with 20 or more points in the past three contests.
Chris Silva added 22 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks as South Carolina continued its surprise run in the SEC. Just 5-7 entering league play, the Gamecocks came in tied for fourth in the SEC.
Texas A&M (10-13, 3-9) saw its two-game win streak end.
Flagg led the Aggies with 24 points and Wendell Mitchell had 20.
South Carolina finished 16 of 31 from behind the arc and tied the school mark for most in a game set against Campbell in November 2007. Hassani Gravett had 18 points off four 3-pointers.
The Aggies came in winning consecutive SEC games for the first time this season with victories over Missouri and Georgia. And they started this one like they didn't want the run of success to end.
Mitchell had a 3-pointer and a three-point play in the first two minutes to lead a 24-12 start. Mitchell's third 3 of the half with 5:27 to play gave Texas A&M its biggest lead at 34-21.
That's when the Gamecocks, behind the 6-foot-9 Silva, finally got things going. Silva skied for an alley-oop off a feed from Gravett, then followed with a 3-pointer to start the charge. South Carolina closed a 14-4 surge on Silva's bucket that cut things to 38-35 in the half's final minute.
But Josh Nebo put back a missed shot and TJ Starks went for a breakaway layup in the final 25 seconds to put the Aggies up 42-35 at the break.
Texas A&M Basketball Postgame Notes
South Carolina 84, Texas A&M 77
Colonial Life Arena (Columbia, S.C.)
ABOUT THE GAME
- The Aggies dropped to 10-14 on the year, 3-9 in SEC play after falling, 84-77, at South Carolina Saturday afternoon.
- A&M jumped out to an early lead, using a 14-3 run before the second media timeout of the game to go up 24-12.
- South Carolina put together a 9-2 run to cut into the difference but the Aggies were able to take a 42-35 lead into the break.
- A scoring lull for the Aggies to open the second half allowed South Carolina to go on a 14-3 scoring spree and take its first lead since the start of the game.
- A&M hung with the Gamecocks, but they were able to stay in control the rest of the way.
- A&M took advantage of the Gamecock's mishaps, scoring 18 points off South Carolina turnovers.
- The Aggies used the starting lineup of Chris Collins, Wendell Mitchell, Brandon Mahan, Savion Flagg and Christian Mekowulu for the third time this season (2-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Sophomore Savion Flagg led the Aggies with his fifth 20-plus point game of the season. He finished with 24 points, draining a career-high six threes.
- Junior Wendell Mitchell got out to a hot start, reaching double figures in the first six minutes of play. He put up 16 of his 20 points in the first half, reaching the 20-point mark for the third time in the last four games.
- Sophomore TJ Starks added 16 points off the bench for the Aggies.
- Junior Josh Nebo returned against the Gamecocks after missing the last two games with a knee injury.
- Billy Kennedy is now 147-112 in his eight-year tenure at Texas A&M and 358-291 in his 21 seasons as a head coach.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 19 to host Alabama at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the game are available here.
