Mississippi State dropped its fourth straight in SEC play on Wednesday, suffering a blowout loss on the road to Texas A&M.
The Bulldogs (10-9, 2-4 SEC) handed the Aggies plenty of opportunities to capitalize on offense, surrendering possession 13 times to just three turnovers from the hosts, and sent them to the free-throw line 24 times, of which they converted 23.
MSU has developed a bad habit of falling behind in the final minutes of the first half, and it happened again on Wednesday. Josh Hubbard hit a three to tie the game at 21 apiece, but it was the only field goal for nearly five minutes for the Bulldogs, and by the final three minutes of the half, the hosts had established a double-digit advantage.
A&M went into the halftime break up 44-33, and never looked back in an eventual 20-point win, the team’s largest margin of victory in SEC play this season.
The Aggies also shot 34.6% from beyond the arc, hitting 9-26 with six different players hitting triples. Forward Rashaun Agee took control of the game, netting 23 points for A&M on 7-14 shooting while going a perfect 9-9 at the line. His strong play in the paint showed up on both ends, grabbing 10 boards and providing five assists. Agee got plenty of help from a heavy rotation, followed on the scoresheet by teammates Rylan Griffen, 15 points, Jacari Lane and Pop Isaacs, 10 each.
The Bulldogs shot 43.3% from the floor, but leading scorers Josh Hubbard and Jayden Epps were below their best for a second straight game. The pair combined for 23 points on 8-24 shooting from the floor. King Grace helped carry the scoring burden with 13 points, and Brandon Walker had his best performance for the Bulldogs with 16 off the bench, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the runaway Aggies.
MSU will return to action on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Vanderbilt at Humphrey Coliseum.
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