March 3, 2026; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Ruben Dominguez (9) reacts during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Image Texas A&M got 21 points from Rylan Griffen and 17 from Ruben Dominguez as it controlled the middle 13 minutes of the game en route to a 96-85 victory over Kentucky in a key second-half Southeastern Conference win Tuesday in College Station, Texas.
A&M (20-10, 10-7 SEC) outscored Kentucky 27-2 over the final eight minutes of the first half to take a 12-point lead into halftime. The Aggies got to 21 points with 14:49 to play, capped by a dunk by Josh Holloway to make it 17-8.
The Wildcats battled back, cutting the deficit to 88-81 on three free throws by Trent Noah with 1:10 to play. But A&M got five free throws from Pop Isaacs in the final 57 seconds to get its lead back to double digits and clinched its second straight loss.
Texas A&M and Kentucky are both sure to clinch big berths in the NCAA Tournament and will likely take the lead with a win for the Aggies on Tuesday.
Rashaun Agee scored 14 points, Zach Clemence added 13 and Isaacs had 12 points for Texas A&M.
Kentucky’s Otega Oweh led all scorers with 24 points. Muhammed Diubate added 19 points for the Wildcats (20-10, 10-7), who had their two-game winning streak snapped.
Dioubate’s jumper at the 15:32 mark of the first half gave the Wildcats a 13-12 lead, and Malachi Moreno’s layup gave them a 12-4 lead and eventually a 30-18 advantage.
A&M responded with a huge response, scoring 13 points and Dominguez hitting a 3-pointer off a corner kick with 4:22 to play to take a 31-30 lead after taking the game to halftime. After Denzel Aberdeen’s bucket put the Wildcats back on top, A&M went on a 14-0 run to go up 45-32 with 37.5 seconds left in the first half.
Moreno’s free throw with 18.7 seconds left cut the Aggies’ lead to 45-33 at the break.
Dominguez led all scorers with 14 points through halftime and the Wildcats got six points each from three players. Kentucky went the final 4:03 without a field goal and missed 11 of its last 12 attempts from the floor in the first half.
–Field level media
