No. 21 Texas A&M manhandles Missouri 84-69

Two weeks ago, the sky was falling on No. 21 Texas A&M.

The Aggies were mired in a four-game losing skid and had lost five consecutive Southeastern Conference games.

The latest evidence that A&M has righted the ship came Saturday at Mizzou Arena, where Missouri got thumped 84-69 behind Aggies senior swingman Jalen Jones’ 20-point, six-rebound performance.

“He came out aggressive early and he never slowed down,” said MU freshman guard Terrence Phillips, who scored eight points with a career-high 10 rebounds and four assists.

Coach Billy Kennedy’s A&M squad improved to 22-7 overall and 11-5 in the SEC after shooting 51.7 percent and controlling the boards 35-32.

The Tigers, 10-19 overall and 3-13 in the SEC, played the Aggies even for about 10 minutes, but a 41-16 run spanning halftime buried second-year coach Kim Anderson’s squad in front of a 7,189 home fans.

By the time Texas A&M freshman guard Admon Gilder powered home a one-handed dunk with 5 minutes left, and sophomore center Tonny Trocha-Morelos added another slam in transition on the next possession for a game-best 27-point lead, Mizzou Arena was quiet enough that cheers from the A&M bench and team staff echoed.

“When Gilder and Trocha-Morelos came in, they shot the ball so well,” Anderson said. “Their bench versus our bench didn’t match up very well tonight.”

Mizzou only lost the turnover battle 10-6 but was outscored 17-3 in points off turnovers.

The Aggies, who’ve won four in a row, also dominated bench scoring 39-18 and points in the paint 36-30, though senior forward Ryan Rosburg put together a rock-solid effort inside. He finished with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go with five rebounds.

Sophomore Tramaine Isabell added a career-high 17 points for the second straight game in his first start of the season and the second of his Tigers’ career.

Isabell, who dished out a team-high five assists, also started Missouri’s SEC Tournament game against South Carolina last season.

“He played well tonight and he played probably a little more under control than he has,” Anderson said. “He has the ability to make plays. … He’s played well two games in a row.”

Missouri went toe-to-toe with A&M for the opening 10-plus minutes.

The Aggies, who moved into a tie with Kentucky for first place after the Wildcats’ 74-62 loss at Vanderbilt, pulled away during the final 9 minutes and led 50-33 at halftime.

The Tigers had played the Aggies to a 22-22 stalemate when sophomore guard Namon Wright connected on two free throws coming out of a timeout with 9:25 remaining.

A&M then went on a 16-3 run with three starters — Jones and fellow seniors Alex Caruso and Danuel House — on the bench.

Forward Tyler Davis, a 6-foot-10 freshman who missed the earlier meeting with Missouri on Jan. 23 in College Station, Texas, powered the run with three buckets.

“A&M played great, especially there middle to late part of the first half,” Anderson said. “We didn’t have an answer.”

Tigers fans went ballistic after no traveling violation was called on Davis’ first basket as he tapped the pass to himself under the basket. The no-call also prompted Anderson to erupt and draw a technical foul.

It was his second technical of the season. He’s the all-time leader in disqualifications as a player, but Anderson isn’t worried about becoming the program’s leader in technical fouls from the bench.

“I can promise you this — I’m nowhere near it,” he said. “I know a guy (Norm Stewart) that’s way ahead of me, and I’ll never catch him.”

Freshman forward D.J. Hogg sank both free throws and added another jumper from the left corner as the Aggies’ lead ballooned to 38-25.

Missouri steadied itself momentarily behind Rosburg, who had 10 first-half points. But back-to-back threes by Hogg and House, followed by two more free throws from Hogg, stretched A&M’s lead as high as 18 points in the final minute before halftime.

“They had guys step up,” Rosburg said. “Any good team like that — I think that’s a Final Four team, honestly — they had step up when they needed points and that run ultimately won them the game.”

The Aggies had four players in double figures, including Jones. Gilder and House each scored 14, and Trocha-Morelos chipped in 12 points.

No. 21 TEXAS A&M 84, MISSOURI 69

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Percentages: FG .517, FT .813. Three-Point Goals: 9-30, .300 (House 4-8, Gilder 2-3, Caruso 1-2, Trocha-Morelos 1-4, Hogg 1-4, Distefano 0-1, Byers 0-1, Eubanks 0-3, Jones 0-4). Blocked Shots: 3 (Davis 2, Miller). Turnovers: 6 (Davis 2, Caruso, Aparicio, A. Collins, Miller). Steals: 8 (Eubanks 3, Gilder 3, A. Collins, Caruso). Technical Fouls: None.

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Percentages: FG .421, FT .824. Three-Point Goals: 7-20, .350 (VanLeer 2-4, Isabell 2-6, Barton 1-1, Gant 1-1, Phillips 1-3, Walton 0-1, Puryear 0-1, Wright 0-3). Blocked Shots: 1 (Puryear). Turnovers: 10 (Isabell 3, Phillips 2, Gant, VanLeer, Puryear, Woods, Rosburg). Steals: 3 (VanLeer 2, Phillips). Technical Fouls: Bench.

Half: Texas A&M 50-33. Attendance: N/A. Officials: Olandis Poole, Glenn Tuitt, Kevin Fehr.

AP-WF-02-27-16 2331GMT

This story was originally published February 27, 2016 at 4:01 PM with the headline "No. 21 Texas A&M manhandles Missouri 84-69."