Donald Sloan’s 19 points lead No. 23 Texas A&M to 76-61 win over Oklahoma State

No. 23 Texas A&M beats Oklahoma State 76-61

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Donald Sloan scored 19 points and No. 23 Texas A&M led from start to finish in a 76-61 win over Oklahoma State on Wednesday night.

The Aggies (21-8, 10-5 Big 12) used 3-point shooting to take an early lead and a 14-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half to keep it against the Cowboys, who were coming off Saturday’s big win over then-No. 1 Kansas.

Texas A&M had its 18-point lead cut to eight before outscoring the Cowboys 11-3 to stretch the cushion to 70-54 with about three minutes left. Sloan, a senior playing in his last home game, and B.J. Holmes both had 3s during that spurt.

James Anderson led the Cowboys (20-9, 8-7) with 27 points.

Oklahoma State shot poorly, finishing just under 34 percent, while the Aggies shot 53 percent overall and almost 48 percent on 3-pointers.

The Aggies were up by 18 before Oklahoma State went on a 12-2 run, with 10 points from Anderson, to cut the lead to 59-51 with 8 minutes remaining.

Texas A&M used a 14-0 run to start the second half to turn a three-point lead into a 52-35 advantage with about 17 minutes to go. The Cowboys were scoreless in the second half until a dunk by Matt Pilgrim about five minutes into the period.

The Aggies got 14 points from David Loubeau and Holmes added 12.

The win improved A&M’s record to 18-1 this season when holding an opponent under 70 points. Oklahoma State’s 61 points were just four off its season low in a loss to Oklahoma.

The loss dropped the Cowboys to 0-5 this season on the road against Big 12 South foes.

Texas A&M led by 13 about 10 minutes before halftime before Oklahoma State went on a 17-4 run to tie it at 28 about four minutes later. Anderson hit two 3-pointers and scored 10 points in that span.

There was a small scuffle just before that run by Oklahoma State after Texas A&M’s Bryan Davis was fouled by Oklahoma State’s Marshall Moses on a shot. Moses and Davis stood face to face and began jawing at one another and the two, along with Holmes, were all given technicals.

The Cowboys tied it again with 3 minutes left in the first half but never took the lead. Texas A&M was up 38-35 at halftime.

The Aggies started strong, hitting their first three shots — all 3-pointers — to take a 9-0 lead. They were up 17-7 about six minutes into the game after hitting five of their first six from 3-point range.