Evan Roberts, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Kobe Brown made two free throws with 9 seconds remaining and finished with 21 points to help Missouri hold off Texas A&M 70-66 on Saturday.
Brown sank 5 of 9 shots from the floor and made 11 of 12 free throws for the Tigers (9-13, 3-6 Southeastern Conference). He added six rebounds, six assists and blocked two shots. Jarron Coleman had 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Amari Davis and reserve Ronnie DeGray III scored 10 apiece.
Brown had 13 points in the first half as Missouri took a 37-32 lead into intermission. Brown hit all three of his shots from the floor and all seven of his free throws. The Tigers shot 59% in the first half and finished at 57%.
Quenton Jackson and Hayden Hefner topped Texas A&M (15-8, 4-6) with 17 points each. Henry Coleman III scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half. Tyrece Radford added 11 points.
Jackson and Hefner combined to score 23 points in the second half as the Aggies battled back to grab a 55-53 lead on a dunk by Hefner with 9:35 left. Jackson made 1 of 2 foul shots to give Texas A&M a 61-59 lead with 5:36 to go. Coleman answered with a 3-pointer, Dajuan Gordon made a layup and Brown capped a 7-0 spurt with a dunk. The Tigers never trailed again.
Missouri beat the Aggies for just the fourth time in the last 15 contests and evened the season series after Texas A&M beat the Tigers 67-64 in Columbia, Missouri.
Missouri travels to play Vanderbilt on Tuesday. Texas A&M will host No. 25 LSU on Tuesday.
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Missouri 70, Texas A&M 66
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M fell to Missouri, 70-66, Saturday afternoon inside Reed Arena.
- The Aggies move to 15-8 (4-6 SEC) on the season.
- Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 22-21.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggie bench outscored the opposition, 36-15. A&M’s bench has outscored their opponents, 94-44 during their last two matchups.
- The Aggies won the turnover battle, 13-6, and outscored the Tigers, 15-6, in points off turnovers. A&M’s six turnovers matched its fewest this season, previously set against Central Arkansas on Dec. 29, 2021.
- Nine Aggies saw at least 10 minutes of action, led by Henry Coleman III’s 33 minutes.
- The Aggies used the starting lineup of Henry Coleman III, Andre Gordon, Ethan Henderson, Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV for the first time this season (0-1).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Hayden Hefner scored in double digits for the second time in his career, recording a career-high 17 points during 16 minutes of play. The Nederland, Texas, native nailed five three-pointers, setting a career high and marking his most since he drained three against New Orleans on Nov. 11, 2020.
- Quenton Jackson came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points and hauled in a team-high six rebounds. The Los Angeles native recorded three dunks and leads the team with 19 on the season.
- Wade Taylor IV, who made his first career start, scored six points and was responsible for the first two Aggie scores of the game.
- Marcus Williams recorded a team-high five assists. Williams currently leads the team in the category with 86 on the season.
- Coleman registered his third consecutive game in double figures, scoring 13 points. Seven of his 13 points came from the charity-stripe, marking the sophomore’s fourth game with 7-or-more free throws made this season. In the last two games, Coleman is shooting 15-17 (88.2%) from the line.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M takes on No. 25 LSU inside Reed Arena on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Head Coach Buzz Williams
Opening Statement…
“It was our slowest game of the year, and a portion of that was because we took the ball out of the net way too many times. I thought we did a lot of good things offensively that we have been trying to work on. It was our lowest turnover rate of the season. I thought our guys played off two feet and played for one another. I thought Hayden (Hefner) was remarkably good on both end of the floor. We just did not get enough consecutive stops to be able to play in transition.”
On the character of the players during this stretch…
“They have been phenomenal. They have responded to everything that we have asked them to do. They have been together, they have been united, and they have received what we have been telling them in regard to how thin the line is. Three straight weeks of losing is hard. I think we have lost eight games now and five of those eight have been two possession games, repeated two possession games and you come up short. That speaks to the character of our guys.”
Sophomore Guard Hayden Hefner
On this afternoon’s game…
“I think we all played well together, and we all played hard. We did exactly what the coaches were telling us, but it just did not fall our way.”
On his career performance…
“I have been waiting on my opportunity and I keep grinding every day in practice. I just keep doing what I know how to do. I have been doing this most of my life and any chance I get, I just go out there full force and don’t hold anything back.”
On the areas the team is improving…
“I think the first part of the season we struggled tremendously with free throws, and I think we are finally starting to turn it around. We missed six today and I think that is a big part of our game. We are an attacking team, we are a fast team, and we have a lot of guards who can dribble and get downhill, so getting fouled is exactly what we are getting to get a whole lot of.”