Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Drops Overtime Thriller to Houston in NCAA Tournament

News release from Texas A&M Athletics:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Texas A&M men’s basketball team erased a double-digit deficit to force overtime but dropped a hard-fought 100-95 decision to the top-seeded Houston Cougars to end its 2023-24 season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at FedExForum.

Down by as many as 13 late in the second half and 10 points with 1:24 left in regulation, the resilient Aggies roared back and battled to make a one-possession game on sophomore Solomon Washington’s second-chance layup with :44 seconds left. A defensive stop gave the Aggies one last chance with 1.2 seconds left and senior Andersson Garcia connected on a straight-away 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

Once in overtime, the Cougars jumped to a quick advantage with a 3-pointer and were ahead by six with 2:27 remaining but the Aggies rallied again and got within a possesion twice before succumbing.

The Aggies fell to 21-15 for the season, while the Cougars improved to 32-4 and head to the Sweet Sixteen in Dallas.

Graduate guard Tyrece Radford was heroic in defeat, tallying a huge double-double with 27 points and a career-high 15 rebounds while dishing out six assists. Other Aggies in double figures were junior Wade Taylor IV with 21 points and a career-high seven rebounds, junior Manny Obaseki with 15 and Garcia with a season-high 12.

Radford closed out his career with a pair of 20-point/10-rebound double-doubles. With 21 points, Taylor recorded over 20 points in all five of the SEC and NCAA postseason appearances this season. Taylor finished 2023-24 tied for second in points scored in a season at Texas A&M with 687, matching Joe Wilbert (1994-95).

With five Aggies reeling in five or more rebounds, Texas A&M pulled down 49 rebounds, including 26 offensive rebounds. Texas A&M earned 45 free throws and connected on 29 freebies for the game.

The Cougars took a five-point advantage into halftime after the two teams traded blows with 11 first-half lead changes. Radford and Obaseki combined to score 19 of the Aggies’ 38 points, with Radford leading the way with 10 along with his nine rebounds.

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