COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- When it matters most, House is home at the free-throw line.

Guard Danuel House, who scored all 16 of his points in the second half, hit a pair of free throws with 2.1 seconds to enable No. 21 Texas A&M to eke out a 68-66 Southeastern Conference basketball victory over upset-minded Mississippi State on Wednesday night before 8,312 at Reed Arena.

Texas A&M (21-7, 10-5) remains one game behind Kentucky in the SEC championship race.

"It's big," Aggies coach Billy Kennedy said of the win. "To put yourself in position to win a championship, you've got to win these games. Everybody knows about the hyped games we've won like Baylor, Kentucky and Iowa State. You've got to win these games, too. They all count the same."

Mississippi State (12-15, 5-9) took its fifth loss by five points or fewer. The Bulldogs will pin their feint postseason hopes on a strong run in next month's the SEC tournament.

The Bulldogs forced a 66-66 tie when guard Craig Sword hit a 15-footer with 23.4 seconds left.

Texas A&M worked the clock for a last shot and got the basketball to House, who drew a foul on Mississippi State guard Quinndary Weatherspoon on a drive to the basket.

"I was looking to score and finish, actually," House said. "(The officials) gave me a call. I was working for it. I went to the charity stripe and made it."

House's 16 points led the way for Texas A&M, which also got 15 points from freshman center Tyler Davis and 10 from freshman guard DJ Hogg.

Mississippi State was led by Sword with 24 points and Weatherspoon with 14.

It was the second consecutive game in which House came up big at the foul line. He hit two free throws in the final seconds to help the Aggies defeat Kentucky 79-77 on Saturday.

He scored seven of Texas A&M's last nine points to hold off Mississippi State.

"Danuel wants to be in that situation. He wants to be in that situation" Kennedy said. "He's helped us win a lot of games like that. We feel very comfortable going to him."

The Aggies never could feel comfortable against the stubborn Bulldogs, who earlier this season lost to the Aggies 61-60 in Starkville.

Texas A&M led 44-35 after House broke away for a layup with 15:41 to play.

However, Mississippi State, which played from behind most of the game, would not let the Aggies take control.

The Bulldogs responded with five 3-pointers -- two each from guard Malik Newman and Sword -- and took a 58-54 lead on a guard I.J. Ready's trey with 6:46 to play.

House answered with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. From there, neither team held a lead larger than three points.

"Every time we had a chance to put them away, they hit big shots," Kennedy said. "Their players are a tough matchup for us for whatever reason."

Mississippi State led 60-59 with four minutes remaining, but to coach Ben Howland's frustration, the Bulldogs failed to extend their lead on three consecutive possessions.

Davis blocked a shot by forward Gavin Ware, Sword misfired on a 3-point attempt, and Ready threw away a pass intended for Ware.

"Once we got it inside and got a really good shot and did not shot-fake, which would have been a foul for sure," Howland said. "Another time we threw the ball out of bounds. When Gavin was open, he should have been rolling, but he was popping. It was a bad pass.

"With that all being said. House gets to the line six times in the last two minutes and 31 seconds. That's probably my fault. The cardinal sin is to not foul and make them earn the basket. I'll be real curious to watch those plays down the stretch starting with Gavin's roll-off play that was called a foul against us. The same exact thing happened on the other end when we didn't get a call."

Texas A&M took a 63-60 lead after House made a pair of free throws and followed with a lay-in with 2:06 left.

Weatherspoon answered with a high-arcing 3-pointer to forge another deadlock.

The score was 66-66 after Sword hit his jumper with 23.4 seconds to go.

The Aggies then looked to House, who brought the win home.

NOTES: Texas A&M G Danuel House, who began the night averaging 15.4 points, did not play in the Aggies' 61-60 victory over Mississippi State on Jan. 6. ... Texas A&M is now 16-1 at Reed Arena. ... Aggies associate head coach Rick Stansbury was head coach at Mississippi State from 1999-2012. ... C Tyler Davis, who was the SEC co-Freshman of the Week with Mississippi State G Quinndary Weatherspoon, averaged 11.7 points and 8.3 rebounds over the previous three games. ... Mississippi State G Malik Newman was back in the lineup after back spasms forced him to miss the Bulldogs' 67-61 victory over Alabama on Saturday. ... The Bulldogs, who posted back-to-back wins over Vanderbilt and Alabama, failed in their attempt at three consecutive SEC victories, which they last achieved in 2011.