Back at full strength, Texas A&M men’s basketball took its only lead of the game with 13.3 seconds left to deal Ole Miss a second heartbreaking loss in a row and claim its fourth conference victory.
An Ole Miss left and turnover gave A&M a “got-to-have-it” situation for one final attempt to crawl back, however, it soon became a necessary foul frenzy.
A junior forward Solomon Washington interception led to another Rebel goaltend, putting the Aggies within two with just 26.9 seconds to play.
Two made free throws from Ole Miss were meant to be the nail in the coffin until Phelps countered with a jumper to put the game with two again.
Another necessary foul was a missed free throw from the Rebels which was reclaimed by a determined Washington, who then lobbed it to an awaiting junior guard Manny Obaseki, who etched himself in history with a three-pointer to take the Aggies’ only lead and make it a SEC road victory.
“Nearly every single possible thing analytically had to go right for us to even have a chance,” coach Buzz Williams said. “ … I think our guys play with great belief in one another, and in 2025 sometimes that at least gives you a chance when things never go your way. I don’t know that we ever led in the game.”
The first two minutes featured the patented intensity of both teams at the rim, with second chance points on both ends positioning the Rebels with a 5-3 lead early on.
Turnovers plagued any momentum in the early moments for the Aggie offense, losing the ball four times to the Rebels with only one field goal to show by the four-minute mark. Fortunately for coach Buzz Williams’ crew, the defensive rebounding effort remained consistent throughout the offense woes.
Despite defensive efficiency, junior G Zhuric Phelps was seemingly the only player showing signs of life on offense, slipping a bucket and a jumper into the basket to even the score at seven. The Rebels did not take kindly to the deadlock in the score, responding with a lightning-quick 8-0 run to command a 15-7 lead over the Aggies.
With a dire situation at hand, graduate G Hayden Hefner calmed the storm slightly, draining a three to pull the Maroon and White closer to regaining their footing. On the opposite end, senior G Sean Pedulla responded with one of his own, maintaining the Ole Miss eight-point advantage.
Wide-open three-pointers were gifted to the Rebels by holes in the Aggie defense. Four players connected with the basket seven times from beyond the arc as pain showered from above.
Where A&M once looked to graduate G Wade Taylor IV for transition threes, graduate G CJ Wilcher filled the void with his three-point shooting, nailing two in the first half. Senior G Jaylen Murray countered Wilcher with three of his own. Hefner contributed two in his time on the court as well.
Ole Miss’s defense was as constricting as it was efficient, limiting A&M to just 33.3% FG percentage in the first half as well as generating nine points off of eight forced turnovers.
A senior G Jace Carter over-the-head three was the key to pumping life back into the lackadaisical scoring efforts by the Aggies, who would jog to the locker room trailing 33-26 awaiting the second half.
Tasked with overcoming yet another halftime deficit, the Aggies had their work cut out for them, being denied at the glass time after time to remain at a 39-30 disadvantage. Offensive inability in conjunction with a powerful Rebel defense made things a consistent uphill battle.
The not-so-gentle giant junior F Pharrell Payne finally got in on the action with two under-the-hoop layups in his standard physical fashion, threatening to steal momentum back in favor of the Fighting Farmers.
Now trailing by just five, Phelps had himself an opportunity to get a couple of points at the charity stripe after being fouled. His face was not hit in vain, banking them both and having the Aggies with three, 41-38.
Payne popped in another, but slopiness on both ends of the ball for A&M caused another six-point deficit. Shortly after, senior G Manny Obaseki stood up to the free throw challenge by dropping in both and then following it up with a jumper and a 3-pointer in a combo deal.
It seemed as though every time the Aggies got within two or three, the Rebels had a 3-pointer to answer, none better than Murray and Pedulla, both racking up four of those shots.
Nevertheless, Williams’ crew remained in the fight down five again, and Hefner took care to drain yet another three. 18 total turnovers remained a lingering issue with A&M, resulting in a back-to-back sequence that left the score 57-52 in favor of Mississippi.
Desperately looking for a breakthrough, Phelps and Co. could not generate much late in the game, with each shot suffering the same fate despite multiple attempts to get the ball in play. A couple of free throws by Payne rekindled the fire of hope for the Aggies, but a tough night for Taylor threatened to doom their chances as a whole.
Missed opportunities proved to be irrelevant as the team was bailed out once again by clutch rebounding and a signature moment from Obaseki — a common theme for this scrappy Williams-coached team.
The Aggies go back to work at Texas on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 1:30 p.m.
