A game that started out as a dogfight from the Aggies ended in disappointment, as A&M fell to the Longhorns in by far the most eventful game the Aggies have played all season long.
Andersson Garcia came into the game making just 14 three-pointers on the regular season, and knocked down four of them tonight against the Horns. Garcia fouled out in the final minutes of play, but still provided plenty of heart on the court. It was also a legacy game for Wade Taylor IV, reaching 2,000 on his historic Aggie career.
While the Horns potentially just received new life, the March Madness picture for the Aggies is up in the air.
The Aggies lost to the Horns not because of talent, but simply because the Aggies were just shorthanded at the wrong time.
Aggies' big men pay for fouls, gave Longhorns a golden opportunity
The Aggies seemed to have plenty of answers for Garcia, Solomon Washington and Manny Obaseki fouling out. CJ Wilcher, the incredible deep-range shooter who transferred from Nebraska, hit one of the most clutch shots of his life when he knocked down a three-point shot to take the lead with under a minute to go.
After an and-one by the Longhorns big man Arthur Kaluma, Henry Coleman III made a strong drive against Chendall Weaver to get a potential and-one, but missed the free throw for the Aggies to only tie the game. A missed shot by Tramon Mark would sent the game into overtime.
Following a good start by the Aggies in overtime, the Longhorns stormed back, along with a defensive lapse by Coleman III to leave Kadin Shedrick open for an easy jam off of a bad switch.
This was a bad matchup in the overtime periods that only caught up with the Aggies as time ran down. The Longhorns hit some big shots in clutch time, and much credit to them. Mark fouled out in double overtime for the Longhorns but it was too late. The Aggies' physical play actually came back to haunt them.
Garcia was having one of the best games in his life, and his scoring and rebounding would've helped in the most important time. Pharrel Payne had to shoot free throws in overtime but his free throw shooting percentage came back to bite him.
While the Aggies' hopes in the tournament remains a giant question mark, the Longhorns might've just got new life, but it took two overtimes to do that. So, even if the Aggies had won, I don't think they would've had the fresh legs needed to take on a team like Tennessee. Much respect to Payne and Coleman III, but Buzz Williams simply didn't have the subs to make a change when needed.
We'll see the Aggies again in a week from now, and hopefully some much needed rest is exactly what they need to compete in the big one.
feed