Texas A&M Aggies Hold Off Purdue Boilermakers For Fifth Straight Win

Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball snagged arguably its best win of the season against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Zach Dimmitt | 2 Hours Ago

Texas A&M Aggies forward Solomon Washington (9) and Texas A&M Aggies guard Zhuric Phelps (1) box out Purdue Boilermakers forward Camden Heide (23) Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, during the NCAA men’s basketball game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball continues to rack up resume-defining non-conference wins before SEC play.

No. 17 Texas A&M held off the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday for a 70-66 win. The matchup was essentially a home game for Purdue, but the Aggies were unfazed. Winners of five straight, Texas A&M (9-2) now has non-conference wins over Ohio State, Rutgers, Creighton, Texas Tech, Wake Forest and Purdue. Not many teams in the country have a resume that can currently compete with the Aggies.

Aggies guard Zhuric Phelps and forward Pharrel Payne both finished with a game-high 16 points, as Texas A&M used a late second-half flurry to build a 12-point lead. They never looked back despite a push from Purdue in the final minutes.

Boilermakers guard Braden Smith stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks. Fletcher Loyer added 12 points and three assists while Trey Kaufman-Renn had 11 points and four rebounds.

Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV finished with 15 points, five assists and five steals. His 3-pointer with 4:44 to play in the second half pushed the Aggies' lead to 12 at 62-50, putting the game a bit too out of reach for Purdue.

The Aggies began the first half with four triples in the first 10 minutes to snag a 20-16 lead before heading into halftime up 38-35. In the second half, Payne scored five straight points to put A&M up six at 50-44 with 14:05 left. This proved to be the difference, as Purdue didn't lead for the remainder of the game.

Texas A&M will close out non-conference play against Houston Christian (Dec. 20) and Abilene Christian (Dec. 28) before opening up SEC action against Texas on Jan. 4 in College Station.