No. 1 Auburn falls 83-72 to No. 22 Texas A&M behind Zhuric Phelps' 19 points

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Zhuric Phelps scored 19 points off the bench and No. 22 Texas A&M never trailed in an 83-72 win over top-ranked Auburn on Tuesday night.

It’s Texas A&M’s first-ever win over a team ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 poll and ends a six-game winning streak for the Tigers, who clinched the Southeastern Conference title with a win over Kentucky on Saturday.

Texas A&M (21-9, 10-7 SEC) denied Auburn (27-3, 15-2) an undefeated conference road record after the Tigers entered the game 9-0 in SEC road games this season.

The Aggies, who snapped a season-long four-game skid, led by double digits for most of the night and were up 12 with about two minutes to go before Tahaad Pettiford made a 3-pointer to get Auburn within 79-70. But Phelps made two free throws to extend the lead.

Pettiford made three 3-pointers in less than two minutes early in the second half to power a run that got the Tigers within six, but Wade Taylor IV had a three-point play that started a 5-0 run which pushed A&M’s advantage to 62-51.

Pettiford led Auburn with 19 points, including six 3-pointers.

The Aggies got their first win since Feb. 15 against Arkansas in front of a rowdy crowd of 12,257 that included 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and Tampa Bay receiver Mike Evans, who starred at Texas A&M together.

Takeaways

Auburn: The Tigers were hurt by an off night from top scorer Johni Broome, who entered the game averaging 18.4 points but managed just eight. He left the game for a couple of minutes early in the first half with what appeared to be a shoulder injury but played 32 minutes despite the problem.

Texas A&M: The Aggies rebounded from their recent struggles with the big win that should give them momentum entering the SEC tournament.