Zhuric Phelps scored 15 points to lead a balanced Texas A&M attack as the 13th-ranked Aggies defeated Oklahoma 75-68 on Tuesday in a gritty Southeastern Conference clash at College Station, Texas.
The Aggies (16-5, 5-3 SEC) led by a point at halftime and were up 61-53 with 6:35 to play. Oklahoma closed within two points twice in the final six minutes, the latter on a Brycen Goodine layup with 4:14 to play.
Texas A&M pushed the margin to seven points when Wade Taylor IV produced a three-point play with 2:31 remaining and never let the Sooners closer than four points in the final minutes.
Henry Coleman III added 14 points for the Aggies while Taylor scored 12 and Pharrel Payne and Manny Obaseki hit for 10 points each. Andersson Garcia pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds while Payne grabbed 11 boards.
The Aggies have won three of their past four games, and they bounced back from a last-second loss as rival Texas on Saturday. Against Oklahoma, Texas A&M forged a 47-19 edge on the glass that included a 21-2 advantage in offensive rebounding.
Goodine led the Sooners with 24 points, 15 after halftime, while Jalen Moore added 22. Oklahoma (15-5, 2-5 SEC) had a two-game winning streak snapped.
Oklahoma led 14-10 when Moore hit a jumper with 11:15 left in the first half. Texas A&M rallied, tying the contest and then sweeping to the lead at 19-14 via a 9-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Garcia.
The rest of the first half featured four ties and eight lead changes, with a layup by Coleman in the last minute giving Texas A&M a 31-30 edge at the break.
Moore led all scorers with 11 points before halftime while Garcia paced Texas A&M with nine points and eight rebounds.
The Aggies boosted their lead to eight points when they needed just 1:14 to score the first seven points of the second half. That surge included a 3-pointer and a layup from Phelps plus a tip-in from Payne.
Oklahoma trimmed its deficit to 45-44 when Moore canned two free throws with 13:28 remaining.
–Field Level Media
