Texas A&M downs Missouri, 66-53, for tenth straight victory

Jalen Jones’ feats allayed Texas A&M’s concerns about feet.

Jones, A&M’s high-scoring senior forward, netted 17 of his 20 points in the second half — including 13 in a decisive 18-3 run — to lift the 10th-ranked Aggies to a 66-53 Southeastern Conference basketball victory over stubborn Missouri on Saturday at Reed Arena.

Jones finished with 20 points to lead the SEC-leading Aggies (17-2, 7-0 SEC), who posted their 10th consecutive victory. He converted three three-point plays in the pivotal second half run. He also converted nine of 11 free throws.

“Jalen finishes at the rim,” Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “He took it to the basket hard. He’s so quick and he attacks the basket. I can’t say enough.”

Danuel House added 17 points and a career-high seven assists. The A&M bench also produced 21 points. Tavario Miller, who made a rare start in place of injured center Tyler Davis, snatched a career-high 10 rebounds.

Missouri (8-11, 1-5), which is winless on the road, suffered its fourth straight loss and fifth in the last six games.

Junior guard Wes Clark scored 12 points to lead the struggling Tigers. Freshman forward Kevin Puryear added 11 and senior forward Ryan Rosburg had 10 before fouling out with 4:34 to play.

A&M limited Missouri to just 35.7 percent shooting (20 of 56). The Tigers made just three of 19 shots from 3-point range. They also committed 15 turnovers, which the Aggies parlayed into 11 points.

“I thought our guys played hard the whole game,” Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. “We’re a little bit undersized, but I thought we competed. I was proud of how we came out in the beginning. Obviously, we don’t play that much zone. We played almost all zone. We felt like that was one way maybe we could slow them down. They’re a very balanced basketball team. That was kind of our game plan.”

That plan was working early, perhaps because the Aggies were without Davis, the 6-10 freshman who is averaging 11.2 points and scored 18 in a 71-57 win over LSU last Tuesday.

Davis sat out the game as a precautionary measure after experiencing pain in his left foot in practice.

“We missed him,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “Anytime someone is 6-10, 270 (pounds), has hands like he does and is a force, you miss him. Tavario came in and rebounded for us and was active, but we hope to have him back real quick.”

Aggies might be a little sensitive about foot injuries. A&M appeared headed for the NCAA Tournament last season until their path was derailed by House’s foot injury.

The sellout crowd of 12,198 might have been experiencing flashbacks early as the upset-minded Tigers used a 2-3 zone for 40 minutes as a strategy to frustrate the Aggies, who hit just one of their first 11 three-point attempts.

As a result, Missouri trailed just 29-25 at the break and held the lead five minutes into the second half.

“It wasn’t frustrating,” House said. “Every game has its highs and lows. We had to focus and take advantage of opportunities. Frustration never clicked into our minds. It was just that we would come out in the second half and do better.”

But it was Missouri that came out hot in the second half.

Missouri scored the first eight points of the second half as Puryear followed two free throws with a baseline jumper and Rosburg scored a pair of layups.

The Tigers later held a 38-36 lead after Clark hit a 3-pointer with 14:56 to play.

However, Missouri managed just one more field goal over the next eight and a half minutes.

Meanwhile, the Aggies showed more patience in working the ball inside to Jones, who took over the game. He answered Clark’s three with a 3-point play to kick off a 15-2 run.

Jones followed with a layup, a 3-pointer and another three-point play. House finally hit a 3-pointer for a 54-40 lead with 6:47 to play.

Missouri never got closer than nine points after that, while A&M’s lead climbed to as much as 17 points.

“I told our guys there are going to be games like this,” Kennedy said. “Fortunately, in second half we came out with good energy. We missed so many shots and took quick shots in the first half that hurt us. Give Missouri credit. They stuck with the zone for 40 minutes.

“We missed some good looks, missed some free throws, missed some layups around the basket. Our defense, I thought our defense bailed us out. Although I didn’t think it was great, to hold a team to 35 percent (shooting), that’s pretty good.”