Savion Flagg's double-double led the way Wednesday night as Texas A&M opened its season with a 98-83 non-conference win over Savannah State at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.

Flagg paced five Aggies in double figures with 24 points and 16 rebounds, helping them dominate the boards to the tune of 68-43. TJ Starks added 16 points and five assists, but also committed nine of A&M's 24 turnovers. Jay Jay Chandler netted 11 points.

Off the bench, John Walker and Josh Nebo each contributed 10 for the Aggies, which owned huge advantages in second-chance points (31-7) and points in the paint (58-18).

Four players scored in double figures for the Tigers, led by Collins Joseph's 20 points. Zaquavian Smith and Jaquan Dotson each tallied 13, and Tyrel Harper kicked in 11 points.

Savannah State stayed behind the 3-point line for most of the game. It launched 54 shots from behind the arc but made just 17 and couldn't keep A&M off the offensive boards. It grabbed 23 of the 50 available rebounds off its misses, using that advantage to gradually pull away.

The Aggies scored the game's first seven points and never trailed, although the Tigers were able to stay reasonably competitive, even after falling behind 17-6 when Flagg drained a 3-pointer at the 14:03 mark of the half.

Savannah State used a 10-2 spurt to pull within three points with 12:33 left in the half as Dotson sank two free throws. The lead was just eight as late as the 6:13 mark in the half after two more foul shots by Dotson before A&M made another run, getting a Chandler layup to improve the advantage to 52-34 in the last minute.

Ahead 53-37 at intermission, the Aggies upped the margin to 21 when Flagg dunked with 15:43 remaining. Starks converted a pair of foul shots at the 13:48 mark to make it 69-47, and although the Tigers kept working the game, they never got closer than 12.

--Field Level Media