OXFORD, MISS. -- The new and improved version of Manny Obaseki has been a huge shot in the arm for Texas A&M over the past three games. Ole Miss would have been much happier if he'd left his suddenly explosive game at home.
Obaseki scored a career-high 25 points, Wade Taylor and Boots Radford added 19 as the Aggies (18-13, 9-9 SEC) blasted the Rebels (20-11, 7-11 SEC).
For the second consecutive game, the Aggies got out to a big lead quickly and never trailed. The Aggies scored the game's first 14 points, and once Ole Miss finally got on the scoreboard, Obaseki hit three straight 3-pointers to push A&M's lead to 23-5.
Ole Miss would get off the mat and cut the lead to as few as 6 at 28-22, but consecutive 3's by Radford and Taylor, along with a free throw from Jace Carter (3 points) put them flat on their backs again. Radford would add another 3 and a layup before the end of the first half, with the Aggies going into the locker room with a 42-29 lead.
A&M shot 47% from the field in the first half and hit 7 of 13 3-point attempts, with the trio of Obaseki, Radford and Taylor hitting all of them.
Unlike Wednesday's home game against Mississippi State, where A&M nearly blew a 23-point halftime lead, the Aggies never let off the gas in the final 20 minutes Saturday. Ole Miss never got closer than 13 and, after a 3 by Radford, two by Taylor and a layup by Solomon Washington (a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds), the Aggies were up 20 with 15:31 to go in the game.
At that point, the wheels really came off the wagon for Ole Miss. The Rebels jacked up one 3-pointer after another with little success (hitting 4-13 after halftime), which led to rebounds for Washington, Radford (who had a double-double with 10 rebounds) and Andersson Garcia, who had 2 points and 13 boards. The Aggies out-rebounded Ole Miss 50 to 21 on the day.
The rebounds led to shots right at the rim for Washington and forward Henry Coleman, who returned to the lineup after missing two games with an undisclosed injury and scored 5 points in 8 minutes. The Aggies shot 50% from the field for the game, and when Obaseki added a layup and another 3 to set his career scoring high, the Aggies were up 32 with 3:41 to go in the game.
The Aggies and Rebels split their regular season series, with Ole Miss winning 71-68 in College Station on Jan. 27. Round three will come in Nashville this coming Thursday, as the two teams will play in the 7-10 game.
