Texas A&M basketball faced its toughest test of the young season Thursday night, defeating Oklahoma State 88-69 at Reed Arena to improve to 4-0 under first-year head coach Bucky McMillan.
The Aggies entered the matchup averaging more than 100 points per game after three comfortable victories, per the outlets reported.
While the offense didn’t reach that mark against the Cowboys, Texas A&M delivered another convincing performance against stronger competition, according to Aggies Wire.
PJ Haggerty led the Aggies with 22 points, shooting 7-of-14 from the field, the reports noted.
Jordan Pope and Zach Clemence each added 14 points, while Rylan Griffen contributed nine points off the bench, local outlets reported.
However, freshman forward Josh Irving provided one of the night’s biggest highlights, recording his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes, per game coverage.
With Cade Phillips sidelined by a knee injury, Irving made the most of his expanded role, adding two assists, one steal and one block, the team announced.
Defensively, Texas A&M held Oklahoma State to 30% shooting from the field and just 20% from beyond the arc, stat sheets confirmed.
Meanwhile, the Aggies shot 51% overall and made 12 of 25 attempts from 3-point range, according to match statistics.
The victory marked Texas A&M’s first win over Oklahoma State since 2017, snapping a two-game losing streak against its former Big 12 rival, historical records show.
Following the contest, head coach Bucky McMillan offered his initial thoughts to reporters by stating, “It wasn’t pretty, but like I said last year we’re not here to win Oscars, we’re here to win basketball games.”
McMillan also praised his standout freshman post player by noting, “We call him the dolphin because when he comes to my house he swims for like 7 hours.”
Freshman forward Josh Irving discussed his performance after the final buzzer by explaining, “I tried to come with energy.”
Guard Jordan Pope highlighted the team-wide discipline following the final whistle by stating, “We showed discipline.”