Fresh off an 80-60 beatdown of bitter rival Texas, a graduate guard Wade Taylor IV-less Texas A&M men’s basketball squad fought back against Oklahoma’s constricting defense and a career 3-point shooting night from graduate G Brycen Goodine to earn a narrow 80-78 victory for the Aggies in enemy territory.
The first five minutes saw the Maroon and White maintain a close 6-5 lead beginning with a pair of free throws from junior G Zhuric Phelps and a timely dunk from junior forward Solomon Washington. The Sooners put themselves in the driver’s seat with the first of multiple corner threes from Goodine, taking the lead 8-6.
After limiting the nation’s second-best 3-point shooters in the Longhorns to just seven makes, the Aggies conceded nine in just the first half against the Sooners. Goodine was responsible for six of those shots.
OU took full advantage of A&M’s recent struggles from behind the arc, combining a total of seven blocks and pressing defense to keep A&M coach Buzz Williams’ crew at bay for the majority of the contest.
Despite the Sooners’ best efforts, the Aggies would not walk away quietly from their first SEC road challenge in the first half, going 10-for-29 in the paint in that span cut their deficit to single digits, 39-30.
The second half began in Oklahoma’s favor, making use of a turnover to generate two points from the charity stripe. A&M would respond with a couple of free throws of its own, keeping the opponents’ lead at nine.
Two 3-pointers from the Sooners capped off a punishing tear, extending their lead to 18. The Aggies responded with their own pair of threes from the duo of Phelps and Washington. Then, a Phelps layup put his squad within 10 points with 15:43 to play in the second half.
Back-and-forth successful shots from both teams kept the game close, with Goodine notching his seventh 3-pointer of the night. A jumper by senior G Jace Carter pulled the Aggies closer, with Phelps making the score 60-54 with 10:25 left in regulation. However, Goodine could not be contained, eventually draining his eighth and ninth three-pointers.
Phelps refused to surrender the night in Norman, Oklahoma, banging in a pair of 3-pointers and a layup to bring A&M within one, 70-69, with six minutes to play. A Washington jam put the Aggies up 71-70, their first lead since the 15-minute mark of the first half.
The old Big 12 foes traded scores before the under-four-minute timeout, punctuated by a three-pointer from Carter. The task of engineering an all-world comeback was now resting on the shoulders of one man: Phelps.
With three minutes remaining, the Aggies made their lead five and aimed to take home their second straight conference win. By 1:10, the Aggies were only up by one when a layup by senior F Sam Godwin stole the lead back for Oklahoma, 78-77.
With the Lloyd Noble Center rocking and just 30 seconds left Phelps inbounded the ball before sending his defender flying and making an ice-cold 3-pointer putting A&M up by two with 19 seconds to go. A careless offensive foul by the Sooners gave the Aggies the ball and eventually, the lead and win.
Phelps finished the night with a career-high 34 points while going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. The Aggies return to action at Reed Arena on Saturday against the No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide at 7 p.m.
