COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Wildcats battled a tough Aggies team to the wire on Friday night but a last-second three in the second overtime gave Texas A&M the 81-80 win. After a slow start to the game, resulting in a 28-20 halftime score in favor of the Aggies, the Wildcats defense picked up their intensity and went on a 10-0 run in the middle of the second half to take their first lead since 12-11. The team stretched their lead to six points with just under four minutes left, but the Aggies close the half on an 8-2 run to force overtime.
Texas A&M jumped out to a 70-63 lead in the first overtime with and ACU answered this time with a 10-3 run to force the second overtime, capped by a
Mahki Morris three with just 0.8 second on the clock. The Wildcats held a two-point lead with just 25 seconds left to play in the second overtime and fouled an Aggie player with six seconds left in the game. The Aggies missed both free throws but got the team rebound to get the ball back under their basket. The Wildcats played phenomenal defense over the last six seconds but Hassan Diarra hit a deep three with a hand in his face to seal a win for the Aggies.
Key Plays
- The Wildcats were the first to score on the night when Damien Daniels drove the lane and dished the ball to a wide open Mahki Morris for the layup.
- Cameron Steele gave the Wildcats the 12-11 lead with a three in transition from the wing.
- Reggie Miller got a layup late in the first half to cut the halftime deficit to eight.
- Just two minutes into the second half, Airion Simmons got the steal and fed the ball to Miller for a fastbreak layup that cut the TAMU lead to just five.
- The Wildcats went on a 10-0 run in the middle of the second half fueled by three forced turnovers and capped by a steal and score from Simmons.
- An offensive rebound and putback from Steele gave the Wildcats a six-point lead with just under four minutes to play in regulation.
- Down five in the first overtime, the Wildcats benefitted from an overturned call on possession to give them the ball under their basket with 29 seconds left to play. Brette Tanner drew up a solid play to find Coryon Mason in the corner for a three to cut the lead to two.
- Down three with 17 seconds to play, the Wildcats missed an open three, but Simmons got the offensive rebound and fed Morris on the win who hit the open shot with 0.8 seconds left to send the game to double overtime.
- Reggie Miller gave the Wildcats the 78-75 lead in double overtime with a step-back three from the wing.
- After Simmons gave ACU the two-point lead with 25 seconds left, the Wildcats committed a foul on the defensive end, but the Aggies missed both free throws and benefitted from a tough bounce on a rebound that gave them the ball back under their own basket. With six seconds to play, TAMU got the ball to the top of the key and Diarra hit a clutch last second shot over great defense from ACU.
Stat Pack
- Airion Simmons notched his first-career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
- Reggie Miller and Coryon Mason led the way with 18 points each, Miller's 18 were a career-high.
- Mahki Morris matched a career-high with 15 points, going 4-5 from deep and 5-8 from the field.
- Damien Daniels dished out nine assists on the night which was also a career-high.
- Cameron Steele rounded out the career performances for ACU with a new career-best 11 points.
- The Wildcats were plus-four in turnover margin, but more importantly used those turnovers to score points, edging the Aggies 22-9 in points off of turnovers.
- Texas A&M edged the Wildcats in the rebounding battle, 40-38, but ACU had 16 offensive rebounds to the Aggies 11.
- The Wildcats also won the points in the paint, outscoring the Aggies 38-24 inside.
Up Next
The Wildcats will complete their three-game road trip to being the season next Tuesday when they travel to face UT Arlington. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
