It took more than two decades for Texas A&M basketball to beat Texas at Moody Center.

Article continues below this ad

Texas A&M dominated the first half against Lone Star Showdown rival Texas in an arena they haven’t won in for over 24 years, but they had nothing to show for it.

A&M (14-4, 4-1) shot 40% from the field over the first 20 minutes compared to the Longhorns’ 32.1%, while winning the turnover battle four to three, and scoring six points off the Texas mistakes. Still, the Aggies watched Longhorns guard Tramon Marks make a buzzer-beater to tie the game at 29 at halftime, squandering what little lead they mustered in the period.

However, all that changed in the second half, aided by Rylan Griffen, who scored 10 points before the first media timeout, helping A&M take a lead it never relinquished.

Article continues below this ad

MORE AGGIES: Texas A&M vs Texas: 2nd half flurry lifts Aggies over Longhorns

Texas A&M Aggies forward Rashaun Agee (12) dunks the as Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) leaps to defend during the first half of Lone Star Showdown, Jan. 17, 2026 at the Moody Center in Austin.

Texas A&M Aggies forward Rashaun Agee (12) dunks the as Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) leaps to defend during the first half of Lone Star Showdown, Jan. 17, 2026 at the Moody Center in Austin.

Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

“We had a really great second half offensively,” head coach Bucky McMillan said. “We closed the game out.” 

Rylan Griffen, Rashaun Agee step up for A&M

Griffen’s 10-point outburst was just the start for the Aggies guard. The Dallas native went scoreless in the first half but finished with a team-high 17 points. He shot 6-for-7 from the field, including 4-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Article continues below this ad

“I told them the start of the second half was important,” McMillan said. “Rylan is a Texas kid. He knows what this game means. He played great in the game.”

Forward Rashaun Agee finished with his eighth double-double of the season. He matched Griffen’s 17 points and added 11 rebounds, 10 of which came on the defensive glass.

McMillan told reporters Tuesday that although Agee is listed at 6-foot-7, they measured the Chicago native this week without his shoes on and admitted he was closer to 6-foot-5.

The discrepancy makes it all the more impressive that Agee went after Texas’s 7-foot big man, Matas Vokietaitis, for much of the night. Agee outscored (14) and outrebounded (nine) Vokietaitis, and Agee let him know for much of the game, the two needing to be separated in the waning seconds of the first half.

Article continues below this ad

“Rashaun is like Charles Barkley,” McMillan said. “He’s undersized but able to get things done. We have to trust Rashaun because nobody has proven they can stop him consistently.”

College Station, the best city in Texas?

Many of the players who squared off Saturday weren’t alive the last time A&M beat Texas in Austin. With 14 new players on the roster, past transgressions mattered less to the Aggies than proving themselves right.

“I know it’s hard to win in Austin. Someone told me how many times A&M has won in here since 1987,” McMillan said. “We have a team that can do it. We have a team that’s playing for each other and fighting for each other. That’s how you win games like this.”

Article continues below this ad

A&M came out blistering in the second half, playing its signature style of unrelenting defense and high-paced offense. The combination of the two put Texas in a bind, with five of Texas’s eight men who saw action finishing with a negative plus/minus. Only one Longhorns player finished with a positive plus/minus in the second half.

“First, I’d like to congratulate Texas A&M and Bucky McMillan,” Texas head coach Sean Miller said. “They came in with a lot of poise and toughness. They have an identity as a basketball team with pressure. They came in here and were the better team today. They outclassed us.”

Now, A&M, 4-1 in conference play, feels like a team that can’t be ignored. It beat a team on the road that has been a thorn in its side for more than 20 years.

Next up is Wednesday at Reed Arena against Mississippi State. Still, before the Aggies turn the page, McMillan had to have a little more fun at the expense of his cross-state rival.

Article continues below this ad

“I love our fanbase,” McMillan started with a smirk. “I want all the Aggies in College Station, which is the best city in the state, to enjoy this win.”

Reach Texas A&M beat reporter Tony Catalina via email at Anthony.Catalina@statesman.com.