No. 21 Texas A&M holds on to overcome Mississippi State, 68-66

Billy Kennedy walked out on the court before Wednesday night’s basketball game against Mississippi State and surveyed the situation.

He saw the bleachers weren’t nearly as full as they were in last Saturday’s thrilling victory over Kentucky. He felt the energy level wasn’t as high.

“You could see it when we came out to warm up,” Kennedy said. “It was definitely a different environment. That doesn’t mean you still can’t be good. I challenged our guys and said it was going to be different – don’t expect it to be the same.”

Kennedy was wrong.

Texas A&M (21-7, 10-5 SEC) had to scratch and claw to the end and again needed a pair of clutch free throws by Danuel House to escape with a 68-66 victory before 8,312 at Reed Arena.

House, who scored all 16 of his points in the second half, hit two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining to enable the 21st-ranked Aggies to overcome the upset-minded Bulldogs and remain one game behind Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference championship race.

The Bulldogs forced a 66-66 tie when Craig Sword hit a 15-footer with 23.4 seconds left, but A&M worked the clock for a last shot.

Alex Caruso passed to House, who drew a foul on Mississippi State’s Quinndary Weatherspoon on a drive to the basket.

“I was looking to score and finish, actually,” House said. They (officials) gave me a call. I was working for it. I went to the charity stripe and made it.”

House’s 16 points led the way for A&M, which also got 15 points from freshman center Tyler Davis and 10 from freshman guard DJ Hogg. Caruso scored nine points and had six assists.

Leading scorer Jalen Jones, feeling the effects of strep throat, had just six points, but did manage eight rebounds.

Mississippi State (12-15, 5-10) was led by Sword with 24 points and Weatherspoon with 14.

It was the second straight game House has come up big at the foul line. He hit two vital free throws in the final seconds to help the Aggies defeat Kentucky, 79-77, in overtime last Saturday.

“Danuel wants to be in that situation. He wants to be in that situation” Kennedy said. “He’s helped us win a lot of games like that. We feel very comfortable going to him.”

The Aggies never could feel comfortable against the stubborn Bulldogs, who earlier this season lost to A&M, 61-60, in Starkville.

A&M led by nine points, 44-35, after House broke away for a layup with 15:41 to play.

However, Mississippi State, which played from behind most of the game, would not let the Aggies take control.

The Bulldogs responded with five three-pointers — two each from guard Malik Newman and Sword — and eventually took a 58-54 lead on a guard I.J. Ready's trey with 6:46 to play.

House, who hit just four of 13 field goal attempts, then answered with a three-pointer from the top-of-the-key that cut Mississippi State’s lead to 58-57.

From there, neither team held a lead larger than three points.

“Every time we had a chance to put them away, they hit big shots,” Kennedy said. “Their players are a tough matchup for us for whatever reason.”

Mississippi State led 60-59 with four minutes remaining, but to coach Ben Howland’s frustration failed to extend its lead on three consecutive possessions.

Davis blocked a shot by Gavin Ware, Sword misfired on a three-point attempt and Ready threw away a pass intended for Ware.

“Once we got it inside and got a really good shot and did not shot fake, which would have been a foul for sure,” Howland said. “Another time we threw the ball out of bounds. When Gavin was open he should have been rolling, but he was popping. It was a bad pass.

“With that all being said. House gets to the line six times in the last two minutes and 31 seconds. That’s probably my fault. The cardinal sin is to not foul and make them earn the basket.

"I’ll be real curious to watch those plays down the stretch starting with Gavin’s roll off play that was called a foul against us. The same exact thing happened on the other end when we didn’t get a call.”

A&M took a 63-60 lead after House hit a pair of free throws and followed with a lay-in with 2:06 left.

Weatherspoon answered with a high-arcing three-pointer to forge another deadlock.

The score remained tied, 66-66, when Sword hit his jumper with 23.4 seconds to go.

The Aggies then looked to House, who had converted four of six at the foul line. His next two were never in doubt.

Tonny Trocha-Morelos then deflected and stole the ensuing inbounds to clinch the win.

“It’s big,” Kennedy said of the win. “To put yourself in position to win a championship you've got to win these games. Everybody knows about the hyped games we’ve won like Baylor, Kentucky and Iowa State. You’ve got to win these games, too. They all count the same.”

House said the victory — A&M’s seventh by four points or less — could pay dividends in the NCAA Tournament as well as the SEC race.

“NCAA Tournament games are always two- or three-point games,” House said. “A blowout is like eight or nine points. Games like this will help us.”