Smith, Moore lead Mississippi State over No. 25 Texas A&M

Updated Feb. 25, 2023 6:17 p.m. ET

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STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Tolu Smith had 17 points and Shakeel Moore had 14 as Mississippi State knocked off No. 25 Texas A&M 69-62 on Saturday.

Cameron Matthews had 11 points for the Bulldogs (19-10, 7-9 Southeastern Conference), who held the Aggies to one field goal in the final 14 minutes and outscored them 34-18 during the same time period.

Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&M (21-9, 13-3) with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, and Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia each had 11.

Texas A&M opened the second half on a 16-5 run and took a 44-35 lead after an Andre Gordon 3 pointer with 14:09 remaining in the half. But the Aggies then went over 12 minutes without a field goal and Mississippi State responded with a 12-2 run to take the lead for good.

Mississippi State used hot shooting in the opening minutes for a 17-10 lead after an Eric Reed 3-pointer with 14:10 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs led by as many as nine in the first half but the Aggies kept chipping away and trailed 30-28 at halftime.

Mississippi State shot 41% in the first half and missed its last 11 attempts behind the 3-point arc. The Bulldogs were just 6 of 12 at the foul line and had five first-half turnovers.

The Aggies shot 45% in the opening half and made 4 of 9 from 3-point territory. Texas A&M had eight turnovers in the half and both teams had 15 rebounds.

BIG PICTURE

Texas A&M: The Aggies saw their six-game winning streak snapped — and their hopes of catching No. 2 Alabama atop the SEC standings also took a hit. Combined with Alabama’s win on Saturday, A&M trails the Tide by two games with just two games left in the regular season.

Mississippi State: The Bulldogs have won seven of their last nine outings, helping their chances to make the NCAA Tournament in Chris Jans’ first season at the helm.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M: Travels to Ole Miss on Tuesday.

Mississippi State: Hosts South Carolina on Tuesday in its regular-season home finale.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll

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