No. 22 Texas A&M beats Texas Tech 72-67 in 1st meeting of former conference rivals since 2012

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Wade Taylor IV scored 19 points, Zhuric Phelps hit a go-ahead 3-pointer during an 11-0 run and finished with 12 points, and 22nd-ranked Texas A&M beat Texas Tech 72-67 on Sunday in the first meeting of the former conference rivals since 2012.

Phelps’ 3 with 7 1/2 minutes left made it 54-52 and put the Aggies (8-2) ahead to stay. His step-back jumper after hard contact with Tech’s Kevin Overton capped the game-turning spurt.

Jace Carter scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half as Texas A&M won its fourth straight game.

Chance McMillian had 23 points with five 3s for Tech (7-2). Overton scored 14 of his 17 points before halftime, when he hit four 3s.

Takeaways

Texas Tech played its second game in a row without leading scorer and rebounder JT Toppin (18.6 ppg/11 rpg) because of what the school said is a lower-body injury for the 6-foot-9 forward.

Texas A&M made all eight of its free throws in the final 27 seconds, four by Taylor, while Tech made three 3s in the final minute.

Key moment

Texas A&M led 23-12 in the first half on a 3-pointer by Carter, that opened a 45-second exchange of two 3s each by he and Overton. The second 3 by Overton started a 9-0 run that got the Red Raiders within 26-24.

Key stat

The Aggies and Red Raiders played at least twice annually between 1958-2012 while members of the old Southwest Conference and then the original Big 12 before Texas A&M went to the SEC. Their first non-conference meeting since 1953 was at Dickies Arena, a neutral site.

Up next

Texas A&M plays No. 8 Purdue in Indianapolis on Sunday. Texas Tech hosts Oral Roberts on Dec. 16.

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