Texas A&M (21-15, 9-9 SEC) took No. 1 Houston (32-4, 15-3 Big 12) to the wire and then some before running out of magic late in the overtime.
The first half was as intense as expected, with neither team being able to run away with the game. There were 11 lead changes and seven ties early, but few issues on the Aggie side ball were apparent that never gave A&M to retake the lead after Houston went up by seven about halfway through the half. However, Tyrece Radford and Manny Obaseki did what they do best: getting to the rim and combining for 19 points.
A&M has been getting to the charity stripe but only made 50% of their free throws and 1-6 from the three-point line. Houston did just enough to stay ahead, but with Wade Taylor held to only one point through the first 20 minutes, the Cougars only took a five-point lead into halftime, up 43-38.
second half:
After scoring the first points of the second half, the Aggies started to struggle on both ends of the court. Houston was able to extend their lead to nine, which caused Buzz Williams to call a timeout. For most of the half, Houston stayed a step ahead of A&M, which had a nine-point lead until late in the half.
The Aggies just couldn’t cut into the lead enough as the Cougars regularly hit a second-chance shot or knocked down a timely three-point shot. Then, with under a minute left, A&M started chipping away while playing the trap and foul game. With just seconds left on the clock, the Aggies pulled within three after Wade knocked down all three free throws after being fouled.
With 10.1 seconds, Taylor got two chances and missed both; however, 1.2 seconds remained. Radford was about to find an unlikely hero open at the three-point line, and with time expiring, Andersson Garcia knocked down a three to send the game into overtime.
overtime:
Ultimately, A&M ran out of gas in overtime and could not hit a few clutch shots late. The Aggie gave Houston all they could handle, but they fell 100-95 in the tournament’s best game to this point. They gave it all, but the defeat will leave them out of the Sweet Sixteen for the sixth straight year.
In the end, an inconsistent Wade Taylor and 16 missed free throws lost the game, but this is why they call it March Madness.
Below are the Aggies critical contributors from the game:
Tyrece Radford: 27 points / 15 rebounds
Manny Obaseki: 15 points
Wade Taylor IV: 21 points / 7 rebounds / 3 assists
Andersson Garcia: 12 points / 5 rebounds
Houston’s top contributors:
Jamal Shead: 21 points / 10 assists
Emmanual Sharpe: 30 points / 3 rebounds
L.J Cryer: 20 points / 4 rebounds
Texas A&M’s season has ended in the round of 32.
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