After finishing non-conference play with an 11-2 record, No. 13 Texas A&M men’s basketball defeated its bitter rival, the Texas Longhorns, 80-60 in the 140th edition of the Lone Star Showdown on the hardwood in front of a rowdy Reed Arena Saturday night. It was the Aggies’ largest win over the Longhorns since 1997.
With Texas now a member of the Southeastern Conference, the matchup held even larger implications than merely bragging rights — especially in a conference as deep as the SEC Texas coach Rodney Terry discussed what it means to compete in such a competitive conference.
“You don’t have to be a big team,” Terry said. “It’s what’s in the chest, you know, man, you gotta be able to out compete other teams.”
Fans rose out of their seats in anticipation for tip-off — which A&M won — hyping up the Maroon and White faithful. In classic coach Buzz Williams fashion, the Aggies struck first when graduate guard Hayden Hefner secured a put-back offensive rebound.
That bucket gave A&M the initial lead, which it held until 15:45 of the first half. There would be five lead changes over the rest of the half as both squads went band-for-band until Texas secured the lead at 13:06, holding it hostage until 4:25 in the first period.
Free throws were the name of the game during the first half, as there were a total of 20 fouls between both teams. The Aggies went 12-of-17 from the charity stripe while the Longhorns shot a perfect 7-for-7, as quantity beat quality this time around.
The Maroon and White eventually gained the lead back before half thanks to a 10-0 scoring run sparked by a deep 3-pointer from graduate G Wade Taylor IV. Several free throws saw them gain a 36-32 lead with 2:43 left to play in the half.
The Longhorns equalized things before halftime as both squads entered their respective locker rooms tied 37-37. However, whatever Texas drew up during halftime didn’t work. The team came out ice cold as A&M hit the ground running with a 7-0 run to start the second half.
The setback forced Terry to call a timeout, but things wouldn’t get much better for the Burnt Orange as the Aggies went on another scoring run, increasing their lead to 13, 52-39.
A&M then went on a dry spell from behind-the-arc. Going 2-for-19 from 3-point land on the night allowed Texas to inch closer, decreasing A&M’s lead to five with 7:48 left to go in the game.
“You could look through the annals of history, and very rarely, home or away, whether Texas A&M is involved or not, can you go 2-of-19 [and win],” Williams said. “I think we did that against Kentucky one time here and lost by six. That’s hard to overcome.”
Despite inching closer, the Aggies refused to let their foot off the gas — dominating the paint and adding a barrage of free throws to create 21 points of separation for A&M’s biggest lead of the night.
Late foul trouble and shooting just 25% in the second half kept the Longhorns from getting back in the game. Time eventually ran out for Texas, as A&M claimed the first Lone Star Showdown victory in half-a-decade, sending the SEC newcomers back to Austin with a 20-point loss.
While four Aggies finished the game scoring in the double digits, it was another player who made a difference to Williams in such a highly anticipated game: graduate G Hayden Hefner.
“I thought the guy that was really, really unheralded, who did an incredible job was H,” Williams said. “Probably the least talented player that played in the Lone Star showdown. But it’s hard to grasp guts, and he’s got big guts.”
Now 12-2 and 1-0 in SEC play, A&M hits the road for its next game against another new addition to the conference in the Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma.
