No. 10 seed Texas A&M Aggies delivered one of the most dominant defensive performances of the opening round, rolling past No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s Gaels 63-50 on Thursday night in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship South Region.
Behind a stellar effort from Rashaun Agee, who poured in 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds, the Aggies (22-11) controlled the game from the opening tip and never looked back. Ruben Dominguez added 11 points as Texas A&M advanced to face No. 2 seed Houston Cougars men’s basketball in the next round.
From the outset, Texas A&M set the tone with relentless defensive pressure. The Aggies forced a 10-second violation on Saint Mary’s opening possession and raced out to a 9-0 lead, holding the Gaels scoreless for nearly four and a half minutes. That early surge proved to be a sign of things to come.
Despite entering the matchup as slight underdogs, Texas A&M flipped the script with its physicality and intensity. The Aggies forced 18 turnovers and limited Saint Mary’s high-powered offense to just 38.3% shooting. Remarkably, Texas A&M held an opponent under 59 points for the first time all season.
Saint Mary’s (27-6), the regular-season champions of the West Coast Conference, struggled to find rhythm throughout the night. Joshua Dent led the Gaels with 18 points, while Liam Campbell added 15. However, standout scorer Paulius Murauskas, who entered the game averaging 18.8 points, was hampered by illness. Coming off the bench, he managed just four points on 1-for-6 shooting in a performance that underscored the Gaels’ offensive struggles.
The Aggies seized control late in the first half when Zach Clemence banked in a 3-pointer with under a minute remaining, extending the lead to double digits. Texas A&M carried a 37-26 advantage into halftime and continued to build momentum in the second half.
At one point, the Aggies led by as many as 20 points with 10 minutes to play and never allowed the margin to dip below 12 the rest of the way.
The victory marked a sharp turnaround for Texas A&M, which entered the tournament off a 20-point loss to Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament. Head coach Buzz Williams noted that defeat helped refocus his team’s toughness—something that was on full display against Saint Mary’s.
Meanwhile, the loss ends a strong season for the Gaels, who had won eight of their last nine games entering the tournament and hadn’t scored fewer than 70 points since late January.
Instead, it was Texas A&M dictating the pace, imposing its will defensively, and delivering a statement win to open March Madness.
