Aggie Men’s Basketball Unable to Get By No. 24 Tennessee in Double Overtime

News release from Texas A&M Athletics:  

The Texas A&M men’s basketball team’s valiant effort came up short in an 87-82 double-overtime loss against the No. 24 Tennessee Volunteers Tuesday evening inside the Food City Center.

The Aggies (13-4, 3-1 SEC) had their six-game win streak snapped despite leading for 35:48 and not trailing by multiple possessions until the second overtime period.

Jacari Lane led Texas A&M, posting season highs with 20 points and nine assists. Pop Isaacs contributed 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Rubén Dominguez tallied 15 points and Rashaun Agee added 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

The Aggies never trailed in the first half, taking a 34-30 lead into the intermission. The defense stymied the Volunteers’ shooters who hit just 3-of-14 (21.4%) from 3-point range, including missing their first eight attempts. Meanwhile Lane hit 3-of-4 from beyond the arc in the opening act.

After the Maroon & White opened the game on an 8-0 run, Tennessee (12-5, 2-2 SEC) matched it, tying the game at the 14:56 mark. The score was knotted again, 15-15, when A&M went on an 11-0 surge sparked by Dominguez with a long-range 3-pointer and an old-fashioned 3-point play. The charge put the Aggies ahead 26-15 with 6:47 left the half. The Volunteers shaved the deficit to 28-27, but Lane sank two trifectas in the last three minutes of the half.

The Aggies stretched the lead to nine points early in the second half, but the Volunteers clawed back and eventually took their first lead of the game, 56-55, with 5:29 remaining. The advantage changed hands eight times in the closing moments of regulation. Texas A&M had a chance to close out the victory, but hit just 2-of-7 from the charity stripe. The Aggies led 71-69 with 16 seconds on the clock, but Tennessee converted on the front end of two foul shots on two occasions and grabbed the offensive rebound on the back end both times. The Volunteers’ Ja’kobi Gillespie missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, sending the contest to overtime.

The first extra period did not feature much action on the offensive end as the teams went to double overtime tied 75-75. The teams combined to hit just 2-of-13 (15.4%) from the field while they both drained 2-of-2 from the foul line.

Texas A&M took its last lead of the game when Isaacs hit a 3-pointer as the Aggies nosed ahead 79-77 at the 3:58 mark of the second extra period. The Maroon & White would go without a field goal for the remainder of the game, while the Volunteers outscored A&M 10-3 down the stretch.

UP NEXT 
Texas A&M remains on the road, traveling to Austin Saturday to face Texas at 5 p.m. on ESPN in the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown.

More News