It’s been the same story over and over for Missouri basketball, with losses piling up in conference play. After a 79-60 defeat to the Texas A&M Aggies, the losing streak extended to 10 in a row, and games within winning reach continue to fly off their schedule.

The Tigers took a blow before the game even started, as it was announced that graduate guard Sean East II was ruled out with a knee contusion. East suffered the injury in their previous game against Vanderbilt. Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams recognized the effect East’s absence had.

“It would be like us playing without Wade Taylor for them to play without East,” Williams said.

Junior guard Curt Lewis was inserted into the starting lineup for the first time in his Missouri career with the injury to East. Lewis knocked down the first Tiger points of the game, with a corner three of an assist from junior guard Tamar Bates.

Graduate Noah Carter got out to a quick start for the second game in a row, scoring 5 points in the first five minutes. A corner triple from Carter put the Tigers ahead 8-7 with 16:00 to play.

Roles flipped midway through the first half as the Aggies earned their largest lead of the game up to that point after a strong take from junior guard Wade Taylor IV, extending their lead to 16-10.

Senior Mabor Majak brought all of Mizzou Arena to their feet with 7:54 to play. Bates missed his field goal attempt, but Majak was right there to follow up with the putback slam and drew a foul in the process. The showing gave the Tigers a 23-22 lead. But not for long. 

“We just weren’t able to manufacture what we needed to manufacture, whether it was loose balls or offensive rebounds,” Gates said.

The Tigers went on a long scoring drought, scoring only 2 points in the last 7 minutes and 41 seconds of the game. Freshman guard Anthony Robinson II knocked in two free throws, but the Tigers allowed the Aggies to score 16 points and lead 38-25 at halftime.

Graduate guard Nick Honor opened scoring in the second half for both teams, getting past his defender and knocking down a floater. Bates knocked down a triple on their next offensive possession, starting a hot streak for the Tigers. 

The Tigers went into the under-16 media break trailing 44-38, finally being able to string together buckets on the offensive side of the ball. They were not able to stop the Aggies on the other end. 

A Bates layup brought the Aggie lead to four points, trailing 44-40. Carter scooped up a rebound with a chance to only be down one possession, but stepped on the out-of-bounds line the following play, leading to an Aggie score on the other end by sophomore forward Solomon Washington.

A major issue for the Tigers to start the second half was fouling, as they committed seven in the first 10 minutes of the half. The Aggies also took six trips to the free throw line, drilling five of those attempts. 

The lead spiraled out of reach as the second half progressed, as the Tigers trailed 73-52 with 3:54 to play. 

The Tigers would go on to lose 79-60 to Texas A&M. Missouri struggled on multiple fronts, including the rebounds, turnovers and points in the paint. 

Honor and Bates took over scoring in the second half, finishing with 19 and 20 points respectively. Both had efficient performances, with Honor shooting 47% from the field and Bates shooting 50%. 

“I put work in, so I feel like every time I shoot it’s going in. At the end of the day, it really doesn’t mean anything if we don’t win,” Honor said.

After this defeat, the Tigers fell to 8-15 and 0-10 in conference play.

Missouri stays at home for their next matchup, taking on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Feb 10. They will look for their first conference win in this matchup.

Edited by Grace Ainger

Copy edited by Grace Knight