After opening the season with a blowout win against Savannah State on Wednesday, the Texas A&M men’s basketball team fell to UC Irvine 74-73 Friday night.
The Aggies led most of the game and the whole second half until UC Irvine’s Eyassu Worku hit a shot while falling down to secure the win for the Anteaters. After Worku’s game-winning shot, there was six seconds left on the clock and some confusion from A&M players TJ Starks and Savion Flagg, as Starks took the ball up the court and missed a contested three-point shot at the buzzer..
“Obviously I’m disappointed,” A&M head coach Billy Kennedy said. “I thought it was a hard-fought game. They made more plays than we did down the stretch. You have to be able to make threes when teams play a zone. We had some great shots and at times we took some tough shots. I have to give them credit, I thought they had more poise than we did down the stretch.”
The first half was fairly even until 11:16 left in the first half when the Anteaters were up 20-16. Flagg proceeded to lead the Aggies on a 14-3 run to give the Aggies a 30-23 lead which they never relinquished until Worku’s game-winner.
The Aggies kept a steady lead in the first half until sophomore Jay Jay Chandler hit a long three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Aggies a 42-32 lead heading into the break.
The second half was all UC Irvine after the Aggies jumped out to a 46-32 lead with 18:02 left in the game. The Anteaters battled back and quickly went on a 6-0 run, which was a consistent theme in the game.
A&M kept trying to break away, but UC Irvine kept battling back and never let the Aggies run away with it. At 3:50 left in the game, Starks hit a three to make it 71-65 A&M and that was the last field goal the Aggies would make as A&M missed its last five shots in the game and UC Irvine took advantage.
“Really pleased with our ability to hang in,” UC Irvine head coach Russell Turner said. “We gave ourselves a chance at the end and I was also really appreciative at the opportunity our program has to play here at Texas A&M. Our guys are obviously really excited and it’s a special thing when a program like ours gets a chance to come on the road to a place like this and have a chance to win.”
A&M was led by Flagg, Chandler, and junior forward Josh Nebo. Flagg had 11 points and five rebounds and Chandler had 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Nebo led the team in both points and rebounds, with 15 and 10, respectively.
UC Irvine was led by junior guard Max Hazzard, senior guard Robert Cartwright, and Worku. Hazzard led all scorers with 19 points and also grabbed four rebounds, Cartwright had 10 points and three assists, and Worku had nine points, six assists, and five rebounds.
The Aggies will be back in action next week as they travel to Spokane, Washington to take on No. 3 Gonzaga Bulldogs. Tip off is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. CT.