Inbounding with four seconds left on the game clock and down 86-85 to Missouri, Texas A&M men’s basketball drew up a play for graduate student forward Rashaun Agee. 

Unfortunately for the 12th Man in attendance, the Tigers won the battle for the paint on the final possession the same way they did throughout the game, forcing the Aggies’ captain into an awkward shot and blocking Agee’s buzzer-beater attempt, securing a win for Missouri on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at Reed Arena.

The Tigers dominated in the post throughout the night, putting up 56 points in the paint to the Aggies’ 28. Missouri also held a clear advantage on the boards, outrebounding A&M 39-26 overall and 16-8 on the offensive glass.

THE FINAL BUCKET AND THE LAST SECOND BLOCK ‼️@MizzouHoops x #SECMBB pic.twitter.com/wyCxdnDx1Q

— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) February 12, 2026

Missouri head coach Dennis Gates said he thought his team settled for 3-point attempts in the first half, and he told his team to drive to the basket more in the second half. 

“Ultimately, we put pressure on the basket, and we’ve done that all season long,” Gates said. “We’re one of the best teams at stopping points in the paint, and we’re one of the best in the country at getting points in the paint. … The zone stifled us a little bit, but our guys didn’t settle in the second half, and we were able to control the paint. Fifty-six points in the paint was awesome.”

A&M head coach Bucky McMillan credited much of the visitors’ success in the paint to their size advantage and said that the Aggies utilized every defensive scheme they had to try to slow down the Tigers’ paint attack.

“We couldn’t combat their size,” McMillan said. “I don’t know if I’ve coached a game where we’ve literally tried as many things on defense as we did to stop them and still couldn’t. … We tried everything in that game to stop those guys from getting buckets at the rim, to get the game in our favor. And we couldn’t.

Despite the visitors’ clear frontcourt advantage, the Maroon and White’s offensive firepower almost made that irrelevant. The Aggies kicked off the night with an artillery barrage from behind the arc, shooting 65% from the field and an equal 65% from 3-point land while draining 11 treys in the first half.

Four players — sophomore guard Rubén Dominguez, senior G Rylan Griffen, junior G Josh Holloway and even sophomore F Jamie Vinson hit 3-pointers to put A&M up 16-13 by the first media timeout.

Griffen turning Griff3n 🤌 pic.twitter.com/kf21mibiDm

— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) February 12, 2026

By the second media timeout, the Aggies had as even of a start on offense as they could possibly have: Nine Aggies had at least one shot attempt, as only two had multiple attempts. Eight of those A&M players hit exactly one shot as things were tied 20-20.

The 3-point firestorm only strengthened throughout the rest of the first half, with nine Aggies connecting from deep by the time the Maroon and White held a 46-41 halftime lead. 

Griffen led the way at the half with 11 points while shooting 3-for-4 from deep. But it was graduate student F Zach Clemence who led A&M with 20 points at the end of the night, including nine points in the game’s final seven minutes that gave the Aggies a fighting chance on the final possession, all while Clemence played much of the second half with four fouls.

“[Clemence] played with confidence, played really hard, played with a little reckless abandon,” McMillan said. “Obviously shot the ball well, he was a matchup problem when they switched and he was able to get in the post and get some buckets when we had to have them.”

Missouri’s first-half shooting was solid but less impressive than A&M’s eye-popping numbers, as the Tigers shot 50% from the field and 33% from behind the 3-point line. In the second half, though, the shooting evened out.

Things went from hot to cold and from yes to no for the Aggies over the course of the night, with A&M going a full seven minutes without a made field goal. The dry spell continued until the nine-minute mark in the second half, when fifth year G Ali Dibba ended the streak. Clemence helped A&M heat up late, but it proved to be too little, too late.

But despite their hot start, the Aggies’ 50% shooting percentage for the game fell below the Tigers’ 54%. For their part, Missouri fans can credit that advantage to the duo of junior F Trent Pierce and sophomore G T.O. Barrett, who combined for 40 points.

McMillan said that the Southeastern Conference is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it’s full of close games and heartbreaking moments. On the other hand, that means the conference slate is full of opportunities to make up for those close losses.

Clemence says that’s what the Aggies will try to do as they attempt to halt their three-game losing streak when they face Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday, Feb. 14.

“We got one coming up, next play, next game,” Clemence said. “It is what it is, it happens to teams. We’ll be right back there. Vandy, we’ll be ready.”