Press conference videos courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics.
Game #12: Texas A&M 118, East Texas A&M 77
Records: Texas A&M (9-3, 0-0), East Texas A&M (6-6, 1-1)
Box Score
Sports are almost always unpredictable.
Almost.
In some cases, the outcomes are entirely predictable. Sunday afternoon was one of those times.
Texas A&M forward Rashaun Agee scored 21 points and had eight rebounds to lead four players in double figures as the Aggies (9-3) stormed to an easy 118-77 victory over outclassed East Texas A&M (6-6) at Reed Arena.
“Stormed” was a most appropriate verb because the Aggies rained 14 3-point goals and counted three thunderous dunks among 66 points scored in the paint.
Pop Issacs hit five times behind the arc en route to 15 points. Marcus Hill hit a trio of treys on the way to 13 points.
Mackenzie Mgbako had 12 points and nine rebounds. Also, Rubén Dominguez, who had three triples, and Ali Dibba contributed nine points.
Although A&M hit triple digits for the fifth time this season, coach Bucky McMillan was worried about how his team would perform.
Superior teams can be vulnerable to upsets in the game before Christmas break.
“I was really concerned about this game,” McMillan said. “Like, this is just a game every year that you just see someone get popped in.
“There’s just always these games because, you know, you're on (Christmas) break. They’ve got their flights booked. They’re thinking about getting home. So, I was concerned about guys not playing well.”
He need not have worried. The game outcome was assured well before halftime.
The Aggies led by as many as 31 points in the first half and held a 56-35 cushion at the break.
By then, there was really no doubt that the Aggies would eventually reach 100 points again. The only question was who would get the basket that got them there.
It was Jamie Vinson. He put back a dunk and converted a three-point play to give the Aggies a 102-67 lead with 4:46 to play.
Going into the game, McMillan wanted the Aggies to exceed 60 percent shooting, share the basketball and hold East Texas A&M to fewer than 35 percent shooting.
They did. The Aggies amassed 31 assists, shot 64.9 percent from the field (48 of 74) and held the visiting Lions to 34.6 percent shooting (23 of 66).
“This is the last game before the break, so we were just trying to go out there and play hard and play to our standard,” Hill said. “I feel like we did. We made a few mistakes, but I feel we played to our standards.”
Perhaps the only area in which the Aggies didn’t play to standard was on the glass. McMillan wasn’t happy that East Texas A&M had 15 offensive rebounds.
“Sometimes there’s a desire to rebound the ball, but you have to have a reckless abandon to get the ball,” McMillan said. “We only have one player in my mind that has that. Rashaun sees the ball, gets the ball and knocks three guys down to get the ball.”
The Aggies still out-rebounded the Lions, 44-35, and scored 21 second-chance points.
So, beyond giving up a few too many offensive boards, McMillan really couldn’t ask for more. Right?
Wrong.
“You can always ask for more,” he said.
