By ANDREW EPPERSON
Associated Press

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Savion Flagg scored 22 points to lead Texas A&M to an 87-80 win against Arkansas on Saturday night.

Wendell Mitchell added 20 points for Texas A&M (12-14, 5-9 Southeastern Conference), which has won four of its last five games and avenged a home loss to Arkansas (14-13, 5-9) on Jan. 5.

Daniel Gafford scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half and grabbed 13 rebounds for Arkansas, which has lost five straight. Sharpshooter Isaiah Joe added 20 points, but his 2-for-8 shooting from behind the arc stalled the Razorbacks' comeback effort. Mason Jones scored all 11 of his points in the second half.

Arkansas pulled within two points with 8:21 remaining in the second half, but Flagg drilled a fastbreak 3-pointer and spurred an 11-2 run that essentially put the game out of reach.

That run included three consecutive layups from TJ Starks, whose acrobatic ability to find the basket through bigger defenders allowed him to finish over and around Arkansas' players. By the time Jones scored a layup at the 2:13 mark, the Aggies' lead was 75-64.

Flagg, who came into the game as the team's third-leading scorer averaging 12.2 points, scored 13 in the second half as the Aggies survived strong second-half performances from Gafford and Jones.

Despite the Razorbacks' best efforts to get the ball to Gafford within the final two minutes, the Hogs weren't able to catch up.

Josh Nebo had 14 points and Starks finished with 11 for the Aggies, who outrebounded Arkansas 35-25.

BIG PICTURE

Texas A&M: The Aggies have won consecutive games and four of their last five going back to a road win at Missouri on Feb. 9. The positive run has been a respite for a team that suffered two, three-game conference losing streaks. While it would take a strong run in the SEC tournament to earn an NCAA Tournament berth, the Aggies are playing perhaps their best during this late-season push.

Arkansas: At five straight losses, the Razorbacks are in a completely different spot than they were after a win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 5. At that point, they seemed to be in position to make the NCAA Tournament. The Razorbacks have lost six games at home, an uncharacteristic stat for Arkansas coach Mike Anderson.

HISTORIC HOG HONORED

The athletic department honored former Razorback guard U.S. Reed with a special presentation at halftime. Reed, who played at Arkansas from 1977-81, is best known for hitting a half-court, game-winning shot against Louisville during the 1981 NCAA Tournament. During the event, a cheerleader who had retrieved the game ball donated it to the university.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M: Continue its two-game road trip at No. 13 LSU on Tuesday.

Arkansas: Travels to Lexington to play No. 4 Kentucky on Tuesday.

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