Rashaun Agee’s late heroics help Texas A&M rally past hapless Ole Miss
Rashaun Agee hit the deciding jumper, then grabbed a crucial late rebound and added a pair of free throws to help Texas A&M rally past reeling Ole Miss 80-77 on Wednesday in a wild Southeastern Conference battle in College Station, Texas.
The Rebels led by five points at halftime and by 13 after a dunk by Malik Dia with 11:46 to play. Texas A&M whittled away at its deficit, drawing to within 75-71 after three free throws by Ruben Dominguez with 4:01 left. The Aggies then capped a 7-0 run on Agee's driving layup that put them on top by a point with just 1:52 to play.
Both teams then missed contested 3-pointers, and Ole Miss had a chance to win after a rebound by AJ Storr with 18 seconds remaining. The Rebels' Koren Johnson missed a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left, and Agee grabbed the rebound and made a pair of free throws with 1.3 seconds left.
A desperation 3-pointer by Storr from halfcourt was not close, allowing A&M to escape with the victory.
Agee led the Aggies (18-8, 8-5 SEC) with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Marcus Hill and Zach Clemence added 14 each and Dominguez had 13 points as A&M snapped a four-game losing skid.
Storr paced the Rebels (11-15, 3-10) with 21 points while Dia had 20, Ilias Kamardine scored 12 and Patton Pinkins hit for 11 points. Ole Miss has dropped eight straight games
A&M led 16-10 after a layup by Hill at the 12:34 mark of the first half but the Rebels roared back, using a 10-2 run capped by Travis Perry's 3-pointer with 9:58 left in the half to take a 20-18 advantage.
The Rebels pushed the margin to 27-20 when Pinkins converted a free throw a minute and half later. A&M culled the deficit to a point after Clemence's alley-oop dunk with 2:53 to play before halftime. Ole Miss rebuilt the lead to six points twice over the ensuing three minutes before carrying a 38-33 edge into the break.
Dia and Hill led their respective teams with 10 points each at the half.