Aggies snap skid, take sigh of relief

COLLEGE STATION — The sellout crowds of earlier this season long gone on Tuesday night in a half-filled Reed Arena, Texas A&M began the process of having to prove itself all over again — with six games remaining in the regular season.

Not bad, for (sort of ) starters. The Aggies, who dropped out of the Top 25 this week after reaching a program-high fifth in late January, snapped a fourgame losing streak with a 71-56 victory over Mississippi.

“We really just needed to get a win, regardless of who we were playing next or playing before,” A&M senior guard Alex Caruso said.

Earlier this season, A&M (19-7, 8-5) might have fielded pregame questions about not looking past Mississippi (16-10, 6-7) on Tuesday before a date with Kentucky on Saturday.

The way things had gone for the Aggies of late, they tried having nothing but the Rebels on their minds — although it didn’t appear that way 10 minutes in. Mississippi built a ninepoint lead midway through the first half before the Aggies closed with a 24-10 run to lead 40-35 at the break.

“Our energy was low, coming off of four losses,

not a lot of people in Reed,” said Caruso, who became the 35th player in A&M history with at least 1,000 career points. “Our minds might have been a little spacey. But I was telling myself, ‘We can’t lose this game.’ ”

The Aggies had played three of their four previous games away from Reed, but Tuesday’s contest marked the start of a three-game homestand. The No. 14 Wildcats visit at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, and the ESPN College GameDay basketball crew will be on hand for the first time in College Station.

The Aggies have more pressing things on their minds than a little national television time, however, in trying to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and for the first time under fifth-year coach Billy Kennedy.

Tuesday’s victory went a long way toward helping their cause, because without it, A&M would have dropped six consecutive SEC games following a 7-0 start in league play. The Aggies defeated Iowa State on Jan. 30 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge as a respite from league play.

“There’s some relief to it, no question,” Kennedy said of shoving aside the four-game losing streak.

A&M senior point guard Anthony Collins played only five minutes in Saturday’s 76-71 loss at LSU because of a stomach virus, but Tuesday he rebounded with 10 points, six boards and a game-high eight assists over 33 minutes.

The Aggies spread their scoring around as senior Danuel House led the way with 13 points among four finishing in double digits. Meanwhile, Rebels star guard Stefan Moody, who entered the game averaging an SEC-best 23 points per game, was stifled by the Aggies’ defense — led by Collins — and held to a game-high 17 points on 5-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-15 on 3-pointers.

LSU on Saturday snagged 14 offensive rebounds to the Aggies’ seven, prompting an irate Kennedy to take aim at his players’ “casualness.” Against the Rebels, the Aggies responded with 13 offensive rebounds to the Rebels’ 11, and more importantly, A&M outscored Mississippi 17-6 on secondchance points.

A&M also committed 10 turnovers against the Rebels after recording 19 in the five-point loss at LSU, in one more example of their appreciation for returning to their home floor.

“(When) you’re at home,” Kennedy said in swiping a page from the late Yogi Berra, “you’ve got to win your home games.”