A&M aims for 'whole game' effort to avoid second-half rally vs. Texas

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No. 13 Texas A&M has proven to be successful in the second half. Next, the Aggies seek success in the second meetings.

A&M (15-4, 4-2) has seemingly established itself as a “second-half basketball team” by rallying for nine victories in the second half. That includes overcoming double-digit deficits to post-Southeastern Conference victories over Oklahoma and Ole Miss.

However, that does not include an 80-60 victory over Texas (13-6, 2-4) at Reed Arena on Jan. 4. That game was tied at halftime.

The Aggies aim for a second victory over the Longhorns on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the new Moody Center. They hope they won’t need a second-half rally to prevail.

“We’re trying to do a better job in the first four minutes of the first half, and we’re trying to do a better job in the last four minutes,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said on Friday. “We can do better. It sounds good if you’re a second-half team. Well, let’s be a whole game team.”

Obviously, that’s the goal.

“Honestly, how we start the second halves is how we need to start the game,” A&M senior guard Hayden Hefner said. “Just learn from that. Don’t put ourselves in a situation where we have to do that. Be aggressive and dominant the whole game.”

Being aggressive shouldn’t be a problem against Texas. Dominating the whole game probably will.

Since falling to A&M, the Longhorns have beaten Oklahoma and No. 22 Missouri. They’ve also had competitive losses to No. 1 Auburn (87-82) and No. 6 Tennessee (74-70).

Although Texas did struggle in a one-sided loss at No. 5 Florida, Williams doesn’t anticipate another 20-point A&M victory in Austin.

“They’re playing with more efficiency, in my opinion, over the last five games,” Williams said. “I anticipate it will be their best.”

Senior guard Jace Carter agreed.

“We beat them here,” said Carter. “It’s a rivalry game. You don’t ever want to lose to your mirror opponent twice. So, they’re coming probably with a little bit different attitude than in the first game.”

In the first game, the Aggies were effective in limiting Texas’ leading scorer Tre Johnson, who was held to 11 points. He’s averaged 16.2 in the five games since.

A&M will aim to contain him again. But forward Arthur Kaluma and guards Jordan Pope and Tramon Mark pose problems, too.

Kaluma averages 13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. Pope averages 12.4 points, and Mark averages 9.1. They combined to score 39 points in the first game vs. the Aggies.

Zoe Kelton, TexAgs

In the first installment of the Lone Star Showdown, Zhuric Phelps scored 15 points in the second half and to a game-high 18.

A&M won that game despite hitting just 2-of-19 shots from 3-point range. However, the Aggies hit 24-of-32 free throws. They also got 11 offensive rebounds, which led to 14 second-chance points.

A&M also outscored the Longhorns 30-10 off the bench. Pharrel Payne, with 15, and Manny Obaseki, with 10, provided most of the bench scoring.

Guard Zhuric Phelps led the Aggies with 18 points and guard Wade Taylor IV had 13 in that win.

But Taylor has been erratic in the last two games since coming back from an injury that sidelined him for three games.

Taylor is shooting just 20 percent (5-of-25) from the field and nine percent (1-of-11) from 3-point range since returning.

Williams isn’t worried, though. Why should he be? A&M has won both games with Taylor back in the lineup.

“I think (Taylor’s) at the top of the scouting report whether he misses two games or not,” Williams said. “That also influences everyone else. He’s done a tremendous job of playing to that. I anticipate that will continue.”

The Aggies hope their mini-winning streak will continue. But they hope it continues without the need for another furious second-half rally.