Texas A&M goes the long route to top South Carolina

Texas A&M took control from long range, draining 17 shots from 3-point range on the way to an easy 92-69 victory over South Carolina on Saturday afternoon at College Station, Texas.

Zach Clemence, a Kansas transfer, came off the bench and made a career-high seven 3-pointers on eight attempts, which accounted for all of his 21 points, as the Aggies (16-4, 6-1 SEC) extended their winning streak to three games.

Rylan Griffen added 16 points, including three 3-pointers, while Pop Isaacs and Rashaun Agee both finished with 11 points.

The Gamecocks (11-9, 2-5), who entered with the SEC's best 3-point defense by limiting opponents to 28.3% from deep, have lost four of their last five. Meechie Johnson had a game-high 26 points with five assists and four rebounds to lead South Carolina. Kobe Knox added 18 points and grabbed five rebounds.

South Carolina showed some life early on, going on a 12-0 run to take a 14-7 lead at the with 13:17 remaining in the first half. The Aggies stopped the run by making back-to-back 3-pointers by Clemence and Ali Dibba.

Texas A&M surged into a 21-19 lead on a 3-pointer by Rubén Dominguez with 8:52 left in the half. Griffen converted a three-point play to push A&M ahead 24-19 with 8:39 left before the break.

The Aggies found their outside stroke from there. They made 12 baskets from 3-point range in the opening half, including four by Clemence, three by Dominguez and two by Isaacs. At the break, A&M lead 46-25 by shooting better from long range (54.5%) than the field (48.4%).

The Aggies stayed in control, opening the second half on a 6-0 run and leading by as many as 32. They finished the day 17 of 39 (43.6%) from 3-point range, one off of their season-high 18 3s against Manhattan on Nov. 21.

--Field Level Media