Game #7: Texas A&M 120, Mississippi Valley State 84
Records: Texas A&M (5-2, 0-0), Mississippi Valley State (1-7, 0-0)
Box Score
Something just wasn’t right at Reed Arena on Tuesday night.
Texas A&M basketball coach Bucky McMillan was frustrated. The recent absences of guard Pop Isaacs and forward Mackenzie Mgbako created team chemistry issues.
“We don’t have chemistry with those guys on the floor yet,” McMillan lamented. “It’s not their fault. It’s not the team’s fault. It’s no one’s fault.
“Just got to get more experience with those guys out there. Just the chemistry. Something’s off.”
Obviously, the lack of chemistry resulted in the Aggies (5-2) “only” scoring the most points ever in Reed Arena history in a 120-84 victory over Mississippi Valley State (1-7).
Perhaps with adequate team chemistry, the Aggies could have broken the program record of 127 points.
That’ll just have to wait.
The crowd at Reed Arena got a pretty good look at what “Bucky Ball” is supposed to be about.
The Aggies hit 16 times from behind the 3-point line. They converted 42 of 50 free throws. They parlayed 31 forced turnovers into 46 points. They accumulated 25 assists.
The crowd also got to see firsthand why there was so much enthusiasm for Mgbako's arrival, a transfer from Indiana.
Mgbako, who has been slowed by a foot injury, made his A&M debut last Friday in a victory over Manhattan. But he only played a few minutes. Isaacs didn’t play at all.
This time, Mgbako played 17 minutes. In that time, he drained three 3-pointers and was 6-for-6 at the foul line en route to a team-high 19 points.
He led six Aggies in double figures. Rubén Dominguez and Zach Clemence both had 15. Jamie Vinson had 12. Marcus Hill had 11, and Josh Holloway had 10. Isaacs had eight.
That was more than enough offense to overcome the hot shooting of MVSU guard Michael James, who scored 32 points.
“It felt good to be back out there with my boys,” the 6-foot-9 Mgbako said. “The first real game back. First game, I had three minutes. I’m doing what I can to contribute to the team.”
Imagine what the Aggies could become when they get more chemistry with Mgbako, Isaacs and Rylan Griffen, who missed the game with the flu.
“I think we’re just meshing every day,” said Clemence, who hit four 3-pointers. “We all put in the work. As the season goes on, we’ll get better.”
From the outset, the Aggies were clearly better than Mississippi Valley State.
They forced five turnovers in the first two-and-a-half minutes en route to taking a quick 16-4 lead.
The margin swelled to 45-21 when Isaacs drilled a 3-pointer with 4:45 left in the half.
Mississippi Valley State responded with a 10-0 run to at least keep fans at Reed Arena interested.
Undaunted, Mgbako converted four free throws, and Clemence hit a 3-pointer to boost A&M to a 52-35 halftime lead.
The second half was more of the same as the Aggies built as much as a 42-point lead.
But McMillan knows they need to improve. Better competition is coming. The next three games are against ACC opponents Florida State (5-1), Pitt (4-3) and SMU (7-0).
What worked against MVSU probably won’t be as effective in the upcoming games.
“We’re going to have to continue to share the ball to get good baskets,” McMillan said. “We’ll play three really good teams on defense, where the coverage is going to be pretty tight.
“We’ve got to find out for these guys that haven’t been here to get them on the same page pretty quick because it’s hard. We can’t play call right now because not everybody knows what’s going on.
“It’s pretty frustrating because we’re very limited with what we can do just because of the reps.”
Yeah. They were limited to 120 points.
