Missouri men’s basketball came up short at home on January 15, dropping its second consecutive game to SEC opponent Texas A&M, 67-64. 

The Tigers led for over 35 minutes, but when the final buzzer sounded, Texas A&M had completed its comeback. The loss dropped Missouri’s record to 7-9 overall and 1-3 in SEC conference play.

Looking to bounce back from a 44-point road defeat to Arkansas on Jan. 12, the Tigers were in firm control from the start. Their defense did not allow an Aggie basket for nearly nine minutes to open the game. But A&M eventually got on the board, managing to hang around and slowly chip away at Missouri’s lead. 

However, Missouri’s defensive performance coupled with a poor showing from Texas A&M on offense kept the Tigers in the driver’s seat throughout the opening half. They held the Aggies to 26.5% shooting from the field and 20% from deep. Missouri ended the first half on a 10-5 run to enter the break with a 34-24 advantage.

So after an impressive 20-minute performance to begin the game — how did Missouri end up on the wrong side of the final score?

At first glance, the second half appeared to be more of the same. Missouri held Texas A&M at bay, never allowing the Aggies to come within less than 4 points for the first 10 minutes of the final half. 

Then, Texas A&M came out of a timeout at the 10-minute mark firing on all cylinders. They quickly cut Missouri’s lead to 3 after going on a 7-0 run, forcing Tigers head coach Cuonzo Martin to call time and reevaluate the game plan.

The game remained close for the next four minutes. Then, with just over five minutes left, Texas A&M took its first lead of the game, pulling ahead 57-56. The teams continued to trade baskets and the lead swapped sides for another two minutes.

Finally, the Aggies regained a 63-61 advantage with a layup off of a Tigers turnover.

Despite Missouri redshirt junior guard Jarron Coleman’s 3-pointer to pull the deficit to just a single point, his half-court prayer that would have tied the score on the following offensive possession came up short. The horn sounded, and the curtains went up on another tough Missouri loss.

When asked after the game how they let such an opportunity to win go, Martin offered a simple response.

“We have to find ways not to beat ourselves,” Martin said. “You [have] got to do the things you need to do to be successful from start to finish of games. There’s just a consistency, that’s what we have to get better at.”

Despite Texas A&M’s mediocre shooting performance, they had their way with Missouri on the glass, out-rebounding the Tigers 38-34. This included a staggering 12-5 difference on the offensive glass, resulting in a 14-4 Texas A&M advantage in second-chance points.

Turnovers also proved to be a factor, with the Tigers coughing up the ball 17 times compared to 10 giveaways from Texas A&M.

“You just got to take care of the ball,” said Coleman, who scored a team-high 14 points for the Tigers. “[It was] definitely a winnable game.”

Edited by Brandon Haynes | bhaynes@themaneater.com