No. 23 Texas A&M overcomes 16-point deficit with big 2nd half in 71-54 win over Southern

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Wade Taylor IV scored 17 points and Zhuric Phelps added 16 as No. 23 Texas A&M erased a 16-point deficit Wednesday night in a 71-54 victory over Southern.

The slow-starting Aggies (4-1) shot 23% from the field in the first half (8 for 35) and fell behind 39-25 at the break. Texas A&M used a 19-0 run midway through the second to repel Southern's upset bid, outscoring the Jaguars 46-15 in the final 20 minutes.

Jordan Johnson had 19 points for Southern (1-4). He helped the Jaguars build their big early lead by hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the first half.

Takeaways

Texas A&M: Coming off a 14-point home victory over then-No. 21 Ohio State last Friday night, the Aggies learned a valuable lesson about letdowns.

Southern: The Jaguars would love to bottle their first 20 minutes against Texas A&M to use throughout their Southwestern Athletic Conference schedule.

Key moment

After trailing by 16 late in the first half, Texas A&M was clinging to a 45-44 lead midway through the second when forward Solomon Washington chased down Johnson on a wide-open fast break and swatted away what otherwise would have been a sure layup. Southern failed to score over the next four minutes as the Aggies built a comfortable lead.

Key stat

Texas A&M grabbed 29 offensive rebounds to 10 for the undersized Jaguars as the Aggies finally took control thanks to their aggressiveness following missed shots.

Up next

Southern hosts Champion Christian College on Monday. Texas A&M plays Oregon on Tuesday in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP collegebasketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The Associated Press