As its had in previous games this season, Texas A&M had too little, too late.
The Aggies (11-9, 3-5 SEC) nearly completed an epic comeback against West Virginia (17-4, 5-3 Big 12), but fell short of earning a key non-conference road win, 81-77.
J.C. Hampton hit a three with 14 seconds remaining to cut the Mountaineers’ lead to 79-77, but WVU was able to maneuver through the A&M press to run off 10 seconds before Esa Ahmad was fouled with 4.4 seconds remaining.
Ahmad, who was 4-of-10 from the foul line prior to being fouled, sank both free throws to give the Mountaineers an insurmountable four-point lead.
The Aggies still had valiant performances from Admon Gilder and Tyler Davis. Gilder topped his career-high 22 points Wednesday at Ole Miss by dropping 24 on WVU. Davis, on the other hand, had a career day of his own, scoring 19 while tacking on 18 rebounds. J.C. Hampton was big off the bench, scoring 21 after going 8-of-9 from the field, including 5-of-6 from behind the arc.
WVU beat the Aggies thick and thin, however, as 11 of the 12 Mountaineers who saw action scored – led by Jevon Carter who had 19 points, adding a team-high nine rebounds.
Daxter Miles Jr. hit back-to-back threes for WVU to open the second half, giving the Mountaineers their largest lead of the game 51-31 with 19:32 left in the game.
Slowly but surely, the Aggies began to creep back into the game.
A&M used an 8-2 run to close its gap to six at 61-55 after a monstrous put-back dunk by Davis with 9:05 to go. The Aggies’ comeback was aided by a near three minute scoring drought by WVU.
The Mountaineers turned the heat back on though, as the Aggies had just one field goal over the next seven and a half minutes. Carter drained a three with 2:36 remaining, and WVU’s lead was back to 13 at 74-61.
As expected, WVU’s pressure affected A&M’s offensive game plan, forcing 23 turnovers that transitioned to 25 points for the Mountaineers.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle for the first 14 minutes, and with 6:06 remaining in the first half, the Aggies capped off a 9-2 run to cut WVU’s lead to one at 28-27.
Then the wheels began to come off the tracks for A&M.
The Mountaineers closed the half on a 17-2 run, as the Aggies committed five turnovers and were 1-of-9 shooting in the final six minutes of the opening period. This series of events led to WVU holding a commanding 45-29 lead at the intermission.
The Mountaineers were pressing in the opening minutes, forcing a backcourt violation on the Aggies first possession of the game and proceeded to take a quick 5-0 lead. A&M responded well, however, using an 8-0 run to claim a tight 9-8 lead at the 16:37 mark of the first half.
A&M continued to shoot well from the floor, sinking its next five shots, but between baskets four and five, the Aggies turned the ball over on four straight possessions. Fortunately for A&M, WVU did not take advantage of those miscues, going 2-of-9 from the field during that span, leading to a tight 16-16 tie with 11:30 remaining in the half.
WVU’s shooting woes ended soon after though, as the Mountaineers made their next five shots, using an 8-0 run aided by a near three minute scoring drought to jump out to a 26-18 lead with 8:29 to go in the first half.
The Aggies return to action this Tuesday, Jan. 31 as they host Vanderbilt. Tip-off is set for 8:00 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPNU.
