Late rally not enough to propel Aggies over Minnesota, A&M falls 69-64

An impressive rally gave Texas A&M a late lead, but the Aggies were unable to maintain the momentum in the final two minutes and suffered a 69-64 college basketball loss to Minnesota in the Vancouver Showcase on Sunday night.

A&M, which trailed 21-7 in the early going and 36-26 at halftime, reeled off a 12-0 run to take a 60-57 lead on a 3-pointer by Brandon Mahan.

The Aggies (1-3) were clinging to a 64-63 lead after Christian Mekowulu hit a couple of free throws with 2:54 to play. But Minnesota (3-0) took control soon afterward by converting 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch. Meanwhile, the Aggies were scoreless on four consecutive possessions.

Minnesota’s Jordan Murphy, who led the Gophers with 14 points, hit a free throw to forge a tie. Then, A&M lost a turnover on the baseline, which led to a pair of Amir Coffey free throws to give the Gophers a 66-64 lead with 1:29 to play.

T.J. Starks then missed a 3-pointer. Flagg got the offensive rebound but was unable to draw a foul on a drive and his shot floated over the backboard. A touch foul on Mahan and a turnover by Starks led to three more Minnesota free throws to close out the scoring.

Mahan hit 6 of 8 field goal attempts to lead the Aggies with a game-high 17 points. Mekowulu had 16, T.J. Starks 11 and Savion Flagg had nine. However, the Aggies struggled at the 3-point line and got little support from their bench. A&M shot just 20 percent (3 of 15) from behind the arc and its bench was outscored 20-6.

The Aggies will next play Washington in the Showcase on Tuesday night.