Savion Flagg scored 22 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots to lead Texas A&M to a 77-63 victory over Northwestern State on Wednesday night in College Station, Texas, in the season opener for the Aggies.

Quenton Jackson finished with 13 points, and Jay Jay Chandler added 11 points for Texas A&M, which shot 56 percent while holding the Demons to just 34.2 percent shooting. True freshman guard Andre Gordon added nine points, while Yavuz Gultekin chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.

Nikos Chougkaz scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Jacob Guest added nine points for Northwestern State (1-1), which opened the season on Tuesday night with a 84-57 home win over Centenary in Natchitoches, La., and then bused to College Station on Wednesday morning for the contest.

The Demons jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first two minutes and led 9-6 after a layup by Larry Owens at the 13:35 mark of the first half. But A&M, behind five points by junior college transfer Jackson, then went on a 14-3 run over the next five minutes to go ahead, 20-12.

After a Chudier Bile layup cut it to 20-14, the Aggies then connected on seven consecutive field goals, including three by Flagg. That run helped them build their biggest lead of the half, 33-16, en route to a 38-26 halftime advantage.

Texas A&M used a 6-0 run midway through the second half to build a 21-point lead, 57-36, but Northwestern State connected on six of its next eight field-goal tries to close back within nine points on a 3-point play by Chougkaz with 7:55 to go.

The Demons got as close as seven points, 67-60, on a long 3-pointer by Jarius Roberson with 3:42 remaining, but A&M then went on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a short turnaround jumper by Flagg to seal the victory.

--Field Level Media