Win streak reaches four as A&M never trails at Georgia, 92-77

Game #21: Texas A&M 92, Georgia 77
Records: Texas A&M (17-4, 7-1), Georgia (16-6, 4-5)
Box Score

In Texas A&M's ascension to the top of the Southeastern Conference basketball standings, the unusual has become usual.

The Aggies expect consistent production from star forward Rashaun Agee. They can also expect production from an unexpected co-star.

On Saturday, A&M had co co-stars Ali Dibba and Marcus Hill emerge with strong second-half performances to help spur the Aggies (17-4, 7-1) to a stunning 92-77 SEC victory over Georgia (16-6, 4-5) at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens.

It was the Aggies’ fourth consecutive victory and their third SEC road win in four tries.

As is typically the case, Agee led the way in the victory with 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Hill and Dibba both scored 15 points to complement Agee’s effort.

But their point total wasn’t as vital as when they scored them. Dibba netted 11 points in the second half, while Hill had eight. Their baskets came when the Aggies needed them most.

A&M never trailed and led by as much as 20 points early. But Georgia pulled within two points with 9:05 to play.

But Dibba scored eight points — six on a couple of 3-point goals — in a 15-3 run that gave A&M an 84-70 lead with 5:14 to play.

Dibba also put back his own miss with 3:11 remaining. Then, Agee and Jacari Lane combined to convert six consecutive free throws in the final minute-and-a-half to thwart any chance of a Georgia comeback.

“We thought if we could get this game to the last five, six minutes, we would play really well,” A&M coach Bucky McMillan said. “It took a total effort to do that.

“You saw us run away with it at the end of the game. That’s kind of what we thought would happen with our group. If we could just hang around and play hard, lean on those (Georgia) guys. They’re a good team, well-coached and got good players, but our guys were really dang good.”

That’s an understatement. Rubén Dominguez also scored 13 points, while Pop Isaacs had 11 and Lane had nine.

The Aggies converted 13 of 34 shots from 3-point range, hit 19 of 20 free throws, out-rebounded the taller Bulldogs (46-39), outscored them 32-27 off the bench and held Georgia, the nation’s second-highest scoring team, to 16 points below its season average of 93 points.

“I thought our adaptability played a factor in this game,” McMillan said. “We were able to play man, we were able to play zone. That was really good to see. You come on the road and make 19 of out 20 free throws … that’s a good sign. That’s not easy to do in an SEC road game.”

Well, everything looked easy for the Aggies in the early going.

They raced out to a 22-2 lead in the first five minutes. A&M hit five times from behind the arc, including back-to-back treys by Isaacs that capped off a 20-0 run.

However, the Aggies soon went cold and converted only one of their next nine shots.

Georgia took advantage of the cold spell to creep back in contention.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

A&M made 19-of-20 from the free-throw line, marking the third-consecutive game shooting 90 percent or higher. The Aggies are 51-of-54 from the charity stripe over that span.

The Bulldogs pulled within 44-41 with 2:31 left in the half on a 3-pointer from Marcus Millender.

But as was the case throughout the game, the Aggies answered emphatically.

Agee hit two free throws, Rylan Griffen got the bounce on a triple, and Hill got open underneath for a layup as A&M closed the half with a 7-0 run. That rally gave A&M a 51-41 edge at the break.

Although A&M never relinquished the lead, there were some tense moments.

Georgia pulled within 63-56 on a 3-pointer by guard Blue Cain, who finished with 14 points.

While Georgia was surging, the Aggies were struggling. They’d managed just one field goal in almost five minutes. However, Hill scored three layups on four possessions.

Still, the Bulldogs got within 69-67 when Dylan James, who came off the bench to score 13 points, converted a 3-point play.

Once again, A&M answered. Lane hit a 3-pointer, Dibba followed with another, and the Aggies unleashed the pivotal 15-3 run.

“We told our guys, ‘You’re going to make some mistakes in this game.’ Just go to get to the next play,” McMillan said. “We did a good job of getting to the next play. Even when they came back, they cut it to two. You didn’t see a panic in our guys. Just stay the course, we’ll look at the scoreboard when the game is over. Whatever it is, is what it is.”

It was another A&M victory. As usual.