The No. 10 Aggies came into town and stunned the Tigers’ comeback bid, as their star guard sunk a game winner.
The No. 15 Missouri Tigers hosted the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies in their 10th annual Rally for Rhyan game, as the Aggies gave the Tigers heartbreak with a 67-64 victory with Wade Taylor IV sinking a last-minute three with 2.1 seconds left.
“I just thought our guys didn’t play with their instincts early on,” head coach Dennis Gates said. “It’s a tough situation to be in and I’m just proud our guys fought back in the second half.”
It was a less-than-ideal start for the hosts as the Aggies jumped out to a 12-0 run, which featured relentless defense against a usually potent Tiger offense. The fans finally got to sit down after Tamar Bates drained a three with 14:32 remaining in the first half, the longest drought to open a game for the Tigers all season.
The Aggies excelled early at contesting Mizzou’s open looks, picking up blocks and disrupting passing lanes. The aggressive defense forced four turnovers before the second TV timeout, to which the Aggies helped themselves to six points off of.
Another point of emphasis heading into the game was Texas A&M’s proficiency on offensive rebounding, and whatever plan Mizzou had to curtail that was not working early on.
The home crowd finally found life after Jacob Crews made a dramatic entrance to the stage, with three three-pointers in a row to open his account. Crews finished the game with 14 points on five-of-seven shooting, showcasing what he can bring to the team when he’s in form.
“I felt like I felt my touch, just played free and made some plays,” Crews said. “Unfortunately we lost, but I think it’s good momentum for me going into the next game.”
Crews’ threes opened up the court for the rest of the Mizzou offense, as Mark Mitchell saw driving lanes open up that he pounced on with haste. Mitchell finished the game with 12 points on six-of-nine shooting, as he was the Tigers’ most effective inside presence the majority of the night.
The momentum fizzled out as Texas A&M’s second-chance resiliency continued to thrive, as they responded to Mizzou tying the game at 20 with a 12-2 run. Pharrel Payne and Henry Coleman III were lethal for the Aggies in the paint, with Coleman picking up a staggering 11 rebounds in just the first half.
“Those two guys are like my bodyguards,” Taylor said. “They’re the reason I can shoot the type of shots I shoot, because they believe I’ll make it and I believe if I miss it they’re gonna get the board.”
More of note, was the inability for the Tigers to find Caleb Grill as the Aggies were clinging to him like a shadow the entirety of the night. The same energy was kept with Bates, who also struggled to find open looks thanks to A&M’s small yet athletic defense.
Despite being down 38-29, the Tigers shot 35% from the field in the first half and if it weren’t for the majority of those makes from three-point land the Tigers could have been down a lot more. Texas A&M’s rim protection was top notch forcing Missouri to just four-of-10 from inside the three-point line in the first frame.
Their proficiency in drawing fouls has not been a point of emphasis for the Tigers as of late, thanks mostly to their hot shooting performances. They needed to tap in to that skill in this one as the Tigers drew 10 fouls in the first half and more importantly, got the Aggies’ star point guard Wade Taylor IV to three fouls early in the second, forcing him out of the game for an extended period. Phelps picked up his third foul shortly after, giving the Tigers a big opportunity to capitalize on the lack of offense on the court for their opposition.
In that period, the Aggies’ offense stagnated but so did the Tigers’, as the two teams went scoreless for over three minutes, trading shot-clock violations and missed shots. The drought ended with a beautiful alley-oop drunk from Marques Warrick to a quiet Caleb Grill. The Grill alley-oop was followed by Taylor picking up his fourth foul of the night with 10:20 remaining, and Bates picking up an electrifying dunk to tie the game for the first time since 20-20 in the middle of the first half.
Part of the Tigers’ resurgence in the second half, was their ability to tighten up their rebounding. What was once a huge advantage in that department for the Aggies, fizzled down to just a two rebound advantage with about 9:30 to go.
“We won some categories and I’m proud of that,” Gates said. “I’m proud of [my team] for doing that from a strategic point.”
The run to tie the game evolved further into a 15-2 run over a staggering 7:30 stretch. The Aggie offense, even with Phelps and Taylor on the court were unable to push the ball to the inside of the paint like they had early in the game.
“They just absolutely pumped us in the second half,” Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams said. “That’s probably not coach speak enough but that’s what it is.”
Another gripe for Texas A&M was the free-throw line, as they are one of the best teams in the country at getting to the line but did a pretty poor job of converting in this one. The Aggies shot 60% from the charity stripe, with Payne doing most of the damage there shooting six-of-10 from the line.
After some life being shown by the Tiger offense, the Aggies defense tightened up late allowing them to take the lead via their previously inefficient foul shooting.
Statistically, the Aggies shot 45.3% from the field while the Tigers shot 39%. Williams’ group shot 26% from the three-point line as the Tigers shot 24% from beyond the arc. Rebounding wise, both teams were neck and neck with the Aggies leading 34-32 in that department after the Aggies took a decisive advantage early.
The game fell down to the final possession, as the Aggies had an opportunity to win it with 10.1 seconds left on the clock with the score tied 64-64. Taylor had the ball kicked out to him and drained a clutch three-pointer with 1.8 left on the clock, silencing the home crowd. Taylor’s game-winner marked it the first loss at home for the Tigers this season.
“The preseason conference player of the year made a tough shot,” Gates said. “That one was the one that you know players make plays and he was able to make the play.”
The Tigers will now gear up to host Oklahoma on Wednesday, February 12 at 8 PM CST on the SEC Network.