COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Men’s Basketball earned its first Southeastern Conference win on Saturday with a convincing 66-43 victory over Texas A&M. Mizzou held the Aggies to 26 percent shooting and outscored Texas A&M 28-10 in the paint as the Tigers improved to 10-6 on the season and 1-3 in league play.

Head coach Cuonzo Martin’s squad held the Aggies without a field goal for more than 11 minutes of gameclock during a stretch that ran from two minutes left in the opening half until 10 minutes in to the second frame. Texas A&M’s 43 points were its fewest in a game this season and the Tigers’ stifling defense resulted in the Aggies’ worst shooting performance of their campaign.

Senior guard Jordan Geist led Mizzou in scoring with 17 points, including 14 in the opening half. The senior shot 6-of-7 from the field and 4-of-5 from 3-point range, making just as many 3-pointers as the Aggies converted as a team on Saturday. Sophomore Mark Smith added 13 points and sophomore Jeremiah Tilmon chipped in 14 points and six rebounds.

TURNING POINT

With Mizzou holding a 17-14 edge at the 9:19 mark, Mark Smith sliced through paint and finished a tough layup at the rim. The drive and score launched a 19-7 run for Mizzou to close the half.

During that stretch, Texas A&M converted just two field goals. After Smith’s layup, junior Reed Nikko slammed home a monster tip dunk and Geist followed with a jumper on the next possession to push Mizzou’s lead to nine.

Another Geist triple and a trey by freshman Torrence Watson gave the Tigers a double-digit advantage it would never relinquish.