National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Texas A&M 69, Vanderbilt 52
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Officials: # Pat Adams, # Owen Shortt, # Steven Anderson
Attendance: 10849

Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy extended his job for at least a day as the Aggies handled Vanderbilt 69-52 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Nashville, Tenn.

The Aggies, who never trailed, got a game-high and career-high 29 points from sophomore guard Savion Flagg. Jay Jay Chandler scored 13 points and Josh Nebo added 11 for Texas A&M, which shot 53.8 percent from the field.

Multiple media outlets reported Tuesday that Kennedy, 55, won't return next season.

Fourteenth-seeded Vanderbilt (9-23) ended its season by extending its school-record losing streak to 20. It's the most losses in a season in Vanderbilt history.

Saben Lee led the Commodores with 19 points. Yanni Wetzell scored 10 and pulled 10 rebounds.

Texas A&M (14-17), the 11th seed, will face sixth-seed Mississippi State on Thursday evening.

After the Commodores hit their first 3-pointer on their 12th attempt just 2:12 into the second half, Flagg answered with one on the other end.

His mid-range jumper about a minute later forced a Vanderbilt timeout at 15:23, the lead up to 17.

The margin topped 20 for the first time on a Nebo dunk with 10:28 left. It never went below 10 after halftime.

The Aggies led 14-6 after Flagg hammered home a spectacular fastbreak dunk with 12:16 left in the first half, then extended the lead to double digits (19-9) for the first time with 10:13 left in the period on a Nebo jumper.

Another fastbreak dunk by Flagg, this one with 1:31 left, followed by his buzzer-beating 3-pointer, put Texas A&M up 34-19, its biggest lead of the half.

The Aggies, needing to win the tournament to have any hope of postseason play, played a pair of walk-on guards, Mark French and Chris Collins, 15 and 31 minutes, respectively. Neither scored a point.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Vanderbilt   Texas A&M
Saben Lee 19 Scoring Savion Flagg 29
Aaron Nesmith 2 Assists Wendell Mitchell 3
Yanni Wetzell 10 Rebounds Christian Mekowulu 9
Saben Lee 4 Free Throws Made Christian Mekowulu 3
Saben Lee 3 Steals Jay Jay Chandler 5
Saben Lee 1 Blocks Savion Flagg 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Vanderbilt 52 37.3 3-24 11-17 6 27 2 13 13
Texas A&M 69 53.8 6-13 7-11 7 31 1 11 15