 "Photo: Jonny Green")
The Texas A&M men's basketball team won its second consecutive game Saturday in a 76-64 victory over Oklahoma State at Reed Arena.
Oklahoma State won the first meeting with the Aggies in a 72-61 victory in Stillwater, in which A&M struggled to threaten the Cowboys' early lead.
In Big 12 play, A&M has struggled to start games, allowing opposing teams to build early leads and forcing the Aggies to play from behind.
That was not the case against the Cowboys, as A&M built a 15-8 lead 10 minutes into the first half. The Aggies stretched the lead to 21-10, with 7:38 remaining in the half.
A&M finished the half with a 38-24 lead behind strong showings from junior Bryan Davis and freshman David Loubeau, who scored 10 points each.
During the second half, Oklahoma State seniors Byron Eaton and Terrel Harris pulled the Cowboys to within two points of the Aggies, with 9:54 remaining in the second half. That was the final time in the game Oklahoma State threatened the A&M lead.
The Aggies stretched their lead in the next four minutes, cruising to the win and splitting the season series with the Cowboys.
"I'm really proud of our group," said A&M Head Coach Mark Turgeon. "We handled their traps, played aggressive, we executed, shot the ball well and took good shots. It was our defense and rebounding that was the difference."
Davis paced the Aggies with 18 points and six rebounds while going 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Junior Donald Sloan, senior Josh Carter and freshman David Loubeau also scored double digit points.
After starting conference play with a 1-4 record, the Aggies have won the previous two games, the first against Texas Tech. A&M has momentum going into a rematch with No. 4 Oklahoma in Norman.
"For us to start out 1-4, we knew that we had to come out and play well this week," said senior Josh Carter. "To be able to get the two wins is really big for us. It'll get us going now and our confidence is a lot higher. "
The win against Texas Tech snapped a three-game losing streak that climaxed with a narrow road loss to Texas.
"We started a new season after the Texas game, starting with the Tech game, and we're 2-0 now and that gives us momentum going into our next game against a very good Oklahoma team," Donald Sloan said.
The Aggies lost a close game at home to the Sooners 69-63, and OU is coming off of a win against Iowa State that needed a 13-2 run in order to pull out the victory.
"I told them that even though we started league play slowly, that we're getting better," Turgeon said. "Our attitude has been good, and if you watch the last two games, you'd see that our team is getting better."
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