Aggie basketball falls to Texas Southern in disappointing loss, 88-73

The Aggies were unable to continue their winning streak this afternoon falling to the Texas Southern Tigers 88-73. The now 5-8 Tigers gave A&M their first loss in six games.

The Tigers came out of the gates attacking the basket. The first three minutes saw two dunks from Trayvon Reed and a layup from Devocio Butler. Coming out in a zone on the defensive end, it was clear the Tigers wanted to force A&M to do damage outside of the paint. Despite this, the Aggies were able to work the ball inside and attack the basket. Eleven of the Aggies’ first fourteen points came off layups and free throws.

A strong opening several minutes for the Aggies, but they were unable to keep their momentum.

Sloppy play coupled with a dominant shooting performance throughout the rest of the first half by Texas Southern allowed the Tigers to get out to a 16-point lead with just under three minutes to go. Up to that point, TSU was shooting well over 60 percent from the field and making the most out of mistakes from the Aggies.

At the half, the Tigers were up by 13 points. The Aggies had given up 14 points off of turnovers or second chance buckets.

“We lost communication,” Savion Flagg said regarding the Aggies’ defensive effort. “They were hitting tough shots. We weren’t talking as much.”

Adjustments had to be made on the defensive end of the floor if the Aggies were going to make a comeback and pull off a win.

The Aggies came out of the break looking like they had made those adjustments. Following a strong defensive stand, Christian Mekowulu had a putback layup and a subsequent block over 7’2 Trayvon Reed that played a role in Texas A&M’s 10-2 run to open the second half. Suddenly, Texas A&M was down by only 5 with 16 minutes to play despite being overmatched on both ends of the floor by TSU in the first half.

The Tigers responded well, forcing two Aggie turnovers and knocking down shots from outside. Wendell Mitchell matched two threes from TSU’s Jalyn Patterson to ensure the Aggies remained within striking distance. At the midway point of the second half, the Aggies were down by 8 points.

That’s when Wendell Mitchell scored on a fast break layup and immediately stole the ball on the TSU inbound to get the Aggies within four points. On par with the rest of the afternoon, TSU responded with a 7-0 run to put the Tigers back up by 11.

“They just answered,” Mitchell said of that moment following the game. “They answered and continued to do things right.”

The Aggies didn’t come within eight for the rest of the match, ultimately losing by 15. TSU ended the game 12-26 from outside the arc and 36-63 overall, led by 20 points from Jalyn Patterson and 17 from Devocio Butler. Texas A&M was led by 21 points from Wendell Mitchell (8-13 shooting, 5-8 for three) and 17 from Savion Flagg (8-12 shooting).

Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy had high praise for TSU’s effort after the game. “We got beat by a better team today. They outscored us on the offensive end.

“I thought we played hard, did some things well. Every game now is going to be teams like Texas Southern.”

It’s critical for the Aggies to put this loss behind them with SEC play beginning next Saturday against Arkansas. Tipoff is set for 5:00 PM.