The Texas A&M basketball team traveled to participate in the Myrtle Beach Invitational, which kicked off on Thursday afternoon. The No. 24-ranked Aggies came in with a lot of buzz around the program but ultimately fell 88-79 on Nov. 17 to the Murray State Racers. The loss brings the Aggies to 2-1 on the season.
The now 2-1 Racers outlasted the Aggies, never quite giving their lead up. Murray State jumped out to a 15-point lead and was able to withstand the Aggies’ best shot at a comeback.
“I thought we were much better in the second half relative to our energy and toughness, but we were not where we need to be relative to our identity in the first half,” head coach Buzz Williams.
This loss certainly stings for the just-ranked A&M team.
Sophomore guard JaCobi Wood led the Racers with 23 points on Thursday. Forwards Kenny White Jr. and Jamari Smith, a sophomore and junior, tacked on 18 and 17 points, respectively. The Racers shot at a 45.5% clip from beyond the arc and 50% from the field. A great offensive showing from the Racers propelled them over A&M to begin their tournament.
Senior guard Tyrece Radford led the Aggies with 19 points but went just 1-for-6 on 3-point shots. Sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV added on 16 of his own but was a lackluster 1-for-8 from 3. A disappointing 22.2% from 3 was a huge reason for the upset. Shooting 38% from the field certainly disappointed Williams and fans of the program.
Star junior forward Henry Coleman III struggled to get much going, as he ended 1-for-6 from the field with just 2 points, an uncharacteristic performance from Coleman on an afternoon where not much went the Aggies’ way. Poor A&M shooting and good Racer defense ultimately decided this one.
“We don’t have time to find our footing,” Williams said of the slow start. “We got to go.”
A couple of bright spots for the Aggies came off of the bench with forward Julius Marble and guard Manny Obaseki scoring 11 and 12 points, respectively.
“They were both really good at getting downhill,” Williams said of Marble and Obaseki’s performance. “They were both really good at playing off two feet.”
Williams hopes that his bench contributes down the road, as well, and that the team can use this as merely a speed bump.
“We do have to learn from it, but we need to learn from it immediately because we play in less than 24 hours,” Williams said.
The Aggies will play Colorado at 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 18. Friday will be an important right-the-ship moment as the Aggies will attempt to regain the momentum they appeared to have.