Credit to Brad Marquardt | Assistant Athletics Director for Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
HOUSTON — The Texas A&M men’s basketball team rallied from a 21-point deficit to tie the game but could not overtake Houston as the No. 4 Cougars prevailed 70-66 in the second game of The Halal Guys Basketball Showcase on Saturday at the Toyota Center.
The loss in the matchup of old Southwest Conference rivals lowered the Aggies’ season record to 7-4, while the Cougars improved to 11-0.
Down 21 at the 15:39 mark of the second half, the Aggies went on a 10-0 run to get the game to single digits at 12:19 to force a timeout by the Cougars. A jumper by UH stopped the run but the Aggies, led by junior guard Wade Taylor, went back to work and out-scored the Cougars 17-6 over a six-minute span to knot the score at 63-63 with 1:30 remaining.
A dunk and then a dagger 3-pointer by UH’s Emanuel Sharp gave the Cougars a five-point advantage with :29 seconds remaining but Taylor rained in a trey of his own to pull the Aggies within two points with :21 remaining. The Aggies had a chance to tie the game with a pair of free throws but couldn’t convert and Sharp clinched the game with a pair of charity shots.
Taylor finished the game just shy of his career high with 34 points, including a career-best six 3-pointers, while also dishing out four assists and making three steals. The preseason SEC Player of the Year scored 26 second-half points to lead the Aggies’ rally. Senior Hayden Hefner and junior Jace Carter chipped in seven points each and senior Henry Coleman III and sophomore Solomon Washington added six points. Coleman III had a game-high 12 rebounds and Washington pulled down seven rebounds, including five from the offensive glass.
The Cougars ended the first half on a 9-2 run to take a 15-point advantage in the break. The Aggies raced out to a 7-0 advantage but the Cougars chipped away and took their first lead at the 13:22 mark. The Aggies regained the lead at 12:46, but the Cougars took control as they outscored the Aggies 29-13 over the final 7:14. The Aggies got to the bonus at 5:06 mark, but were granted only one foul in the final five minutes of the first stanza.
GAME NOTES:
WADE TAYLOR THE FOURTH: Wade Taylor IV scored over 30 points for the second time this season with 34, which was just off his career best of 35 against Florida Atlantic in the ESPN Events Invitational. Taylor racked up 26 in the second half alone. The junior recorded a career-high six 3-pointers made while tallying four assists, three steals and three rebounds.
CLEANING THE GLASS: Henry Coleman III pulled down 12 rebounds to tally his fifth double-digit rebound effort of the season. Solomon Washington matched his career high with five offensive rebounds was just a carom shy of career best for total rebounds with seven. The nation’s No. 2 offensive rebounding team, the Aggies had 17 offensive boards vs. the Cougar, marking their 11th straight game with 12 or more offensive rebounds this season. Also generating crooked numbers of offensive rebounds were Andersson Garcia (3), Coleman III (3) and Jace Carter (2).
AGGIE OFFENSE: The 66 points scored by the Aggies is the most Houston has given up this season as the Cougars entered the game ranked No. 1 in Division I in scoring defense and were allowing only 49.7 points per game entering today’s contest.