Texas A&M Outlasts Auburn, Sweeps Season Series for 9th SEC Win

The Aggies once again proved their ability to compete against a bona fide NCAA tournament team, adding another resume-building win en route to their best start to SEC play since joining the conference.

Reed Arena came through Tuesday night for The Texas A&M Aggies.

Looking for a season sweep against Auburn, the Aggies thrived off of an electric atmosphere, ultimately coming out with an 83-78 win in a game that finished with 17 lead changes and seven ties — making it arguably one the most competitive of the season for both schools.

The Aggies kept the game close early, fueled by graduate guard Dexter Dennis, who scored both inside the paint and from the free throw line to keep the Aggies within striking distance.

Both teams were evenly matched in rebounds, 3-point percentage, and even blocks — something that the Aggies were largely outnumbered in during their last matchup against the Tigers — but Auburn’s defense forced more turnovers that led to points to gain its lead.

Though the Tigers led by as many as 12, Texas A&M did what it does best, shooting 12 free throws and making seven in the first 20 minutes, which ended up being enough to give the team a 37-36 lead entering the break.

After halftime, both teams continued to roll. Auburn found itself with the lead yet again, building upon both a 60 percent 3-point shooting clip in the first part of the half, as well as sophomore forward Johni Broome, who finished the game with a double-double — tallying 18 points and 10 rebounds in the Tigers’ losing effort.

To counter, the Aggies’ own sophomore — Wade Taylor IV — put up 22 points to go along with 7 assists. His performance, including a late game 3-pointer to extend the lead helped seal the deal for the Aggies.

Junior forward Andersson Garcia, who played his season-high minutes against the Tigers, followed that up with his second-most minutes of the year, reeling in six rebounds and shooting almost perfect from the free throw line.

And while Garcia had another solid game, it was junior forward Julius Marble who stole the show down the stretch for the Aggies. With under three minutes to play, Marble scored back-to-back hook shots to extend the Aggies’ lead to four in the game’s turning point.

From there, the Aggies grabbed a couple of clutch defensive rebounds, forcing the Tigers to take desperation shots with the clock winding down and senior guard Andre Gordon knocked down the Aggies’ final two free throws to ice the game.

The win helped the Aggies to improve to 9-2 — their best start since joining the SEC in 2012 — and move into second place in the conference, though a win on Wednesday for Tennessee would tie them at that position. Beating a No. 8 seeded Auburn team also helped Texas A&M’s tournament resume, which it will continue to build-upon entering the final stretch of the season.

Next up for the Aggies is a road trip to Baton Rouge on Saturday, where they will face LSU — a team on a 10-game losing streak — in hopes of earning their 10th conference win on the season ahead of their rematch against Arkansas. Tipoff against LSU will be at 7:30 p.m.

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