COLLEGE STATION, Texas — 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 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.
Auburn was 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.
It was Broome’s second straight game scoring in single digits.
The Aggies, who snapped a season-long four-game skid, opened the game on a 12-2 run and led by double digits for most of the night. They 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 that pushed A&M’s advantage to 62-51.
The Aggies are the second team this season to defeat an AP No. 1-ranked team in wire-to-wire fashion, joining Creighton, which beat then-No. 1 Kansas on Dec. 4.
Pettiford led Auburn with 19 points, including six 3-pointers.
Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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