Four Texas A&M players scored in double figures Wednesday night and the Aggies never trailed in a 75-69 win over Mississippi State in College Station, Texas.
Manny Obaseki led the way with 17 points, while Solomon Washington added 15 points and nine rebounds. Tyrece Radford contributed 14 points and eight boards while Wade Taylor scored 13 points and handed out six assists for Texas A&M (17-13, 8-9 Southeastern Conference).
Freshman Josh Hubbard scored a game-high 24 points but made just 9 of 23 shots from the field and 5 of 18 from 3-point range for the Bulldogs (19-11, 8-9). Dashawn Davis added 15 and Cameron Matthews chipped in 12 points, but leading scorer Tolu Smith was held to five shots and eight points, less than half his average.
It was the third straight loss for Mississippi State, which trailed by 23 points less than five minutes into the second half before storming back with 15 unanswered points. The Bulldogs got as close as three points on two occasions down the stretch before Taylor canned a runner in the final minute to put the game away.
Texas A&M, which has won back-to-back games after a five-game losing streak, outscored the Bulldogs 18-9 in points off turnovers and 15-4 at the foul line.
Playing on its senior night, Texas A&M rattled off the first seven points to set the tone for a first half that it controlled. The Aggies held Mississippi State scoreless for the first five minutes until Davis connected on the first of his four 3-pointers.
Obaseki made back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Aggies their first double-figure lead at 21-11 with 10:36 left in the half. The Bulldogs finally pieced together a run, ripping off a 12-2 spurt to even the score at 26 when Matthews made a layup at the 5:19 mark.
The half’s remainder belonged to Texas A&M. Washington’s layup initiated a 19-6 run to end the half, capped by two foul shots by Jace Carter with 18 seconds remaining to give the hosts a 45-32 advantage at the break.
–Field Level Media