COLLEGE STATION -- The Texas A&M men's basketball team returns to action Saturday afternoon as it will look to continue its success in Reed, hosting Texas Southern. The Aggies made it back-to-back 20-plus point wins with a commanding victory over Marshall a week ago. A&M has topped each of its last five opponents, picking up its first road of the season when it knocked off Oregon State in Portland. Texas Southern enters the weekend having dropped four of its last five games, most recently falling at Lamar before the Christmas break. Its lone win in the skid came at home against Concordia.
The game is part of the annual Holiday Hoops promotion, which features general admission tickets for $5 for adults and $3 for youth, available here. Fans are advised that parking costs $5 for all doubleheader gamedays but a men's basketball season parking pass allows entry to the parking lots for all games. Fans are encouraged to stay for both games with their purchased ticket, which serves as a general admission ticket to the non-purchased game.
Texas A&M Quick Hits
• Christian Mekowulu has led the Aggies in scoring in back-to-back games, putting up a season-best 20 points against Valpo before scoring 17 against Marshall.
• Josh Nebo recorded his second perfect shooting night of the season after going 7-for-7 from the field against Marshall.
• TJ Starks came off the bench for the first time this season and helped lead the Aggies past Marshall with 17 points.
• In each of its last four games, A&M has forced its opponent to shoot 35-percent or worse from the field.
• The Aggies have tallied three 20-plus point wins this season, going back-to-back on lopsided victories against Marshall and Valpo.
• A&M has seen seven different Aggies lead the team in scoring through ten games this season.
• Despite the Aggies' smaller lineup this year, they currently rank ninth in the nation, getting up for 5.9 swats per game.
• The Aggies notched a pair of milestones with the victory over South Alabama, as Coach Kennedy earned the 350th win of his career and the program reached 250 wins in Reed Arena.
Series History
• Saturday marks the 10th all-time meeting between the Aggies and Tigers. A&M has never dropped a game in the series.
• The two teams most recently met in 2005, when A&M claimed an 81-56 win in Reed.
• The Aggies and Tigers have met eight times in College Station. The only other place the two teams have played is San Marcos, Texas, facing off in the Jowers Jamboree in 198TA7.
• The first meeting in the series was in 1980, when the then-No. 14 Aggies claimed a 61-50 win over the Tigers in College Station.
Bigs Spark Aggies Against Marshall
• Graduate student Christian Mekowulu and junior Josh Nebo had impressive performances to help lift the Aggies past Marshall.
• Mekowulu came alive in the second half to score 11 of his team-best 17 points. This was the second straight game he led the team in scoring.
• Nebo was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line on the night, his second perfect shooting game of the season. He gave A&M a spark in the first half, with 10 points and six boards, finishing with 16 and eight.
• Redshirt freshman John Walker III added nine points and a season-best eight rebounds off the bench in the victory.
Two For 20
• For the first time this season, two Aggies put up 20 points in the same game as Brandon Mahan and Christian Mekowulu set season highs with 20 points apiece in the win over Valpo.
• Mahan knocked down four of his seven attempts from beyond the arc in the game, while Mekowulu went 8-for-9 from the field.
• A&M topped Valpo 71-49, marking the second time this season the team has earned a 20-plus point victory (21, Northwestern State).
Reed Arena Success
• The Aggies are in their 21st season at Reed Arena. They boast a 253-85 (.749) all-time record in their current home venue. They were 41-41 in the first six years at Reed and are 212-44 (.828) since.
• In the last five seasons, Texas A&M is 76-15 (.835) on its home floor.
• The Aggies have won 169 of their last 196 home games against unranked opponents.
• Texas A&M went 7-0 in non-conference games at Reed Arena last season, and is 156-15 all-time (.912) since hosting its first basketball game in 1998.
