Game #10: Southern Methodist 93, Texas A&M 80 (OT)
Records: Texas A&M (7-3, 0-0), Southern Methodist (9-1, 0-0)
Box Score
A couple of agonizing turnovers derailed an astonishing comeback bid as Texas A&M suffered an overtime loss to SMU, 93-80, on Sunday night in Arlington.
SMU (9-1) completely dominated the extra period as A&M (7-3) was 0-for-12 on field goal attempts and managed to convert only three of eight free throw attempts. Tied 77-77 at the end of regulation, the Mustangs outscored the Aggies 16-3 in overtime.
But both teams would probably argue the outcome never should have been decided in overtime.
SMU led by as much as 15 points in the second half. The Mustangs, who were led by guard Jaron Pierre Jr.’s 35 points, no doubt thought the game was under control.
“The sad part about this sport is it leaves such a bad taste in your mouth,” A&M head coach Bucky McMillan said. “If you stop that game with 40 seconds left when we had the ball, we might be talking about how this group has a lot of fight, a lot of heart and is improved.
“Obviously, the score isn’t indicative of the game. It was an overtime game, not a double-digit game. That one hurt. We needed just to close that out, but good heart by our players to do what they did in the second half.”
However, the Aggies mounted a 20-4 run to take a 77-73 lead on a Pop Isaacs 3-pointer with just 1:17 remaining.
Yet, just when victory seemed in their grasp, it slipped through the Aggies' fingers.
Two careless turnovers in the final 38 seconds enabled SMU to pull even with a pair of free throws by guard B.J. Edwards and a layup by Pierre.
“Total control of the game,” McMillan said. “Got stops late when we needed it and had the ball, up four with 40 seconds left. We end the game, technically, on four straight turnovers.
“We just got to close that out. Period.”
A&M, which had a five-game winning streak come to an end, was led by guard Marcus Hill, who scored 25 points and had seven rebounds.
Mackenzie Mgbako and Rashaun Agee also had 13 points for A&M.
But A&M was thwarted by poor shooting. The Aggies hit 35.2 percent (25-of-71) from the field, converted just 23.5 percent (8-of-34) from 3-point range and shot just 64.6 percent (22-of-34) at the foul line.
In contrast, SMU shot 47 percent (31-of-66) from the field and hit 92.9 percent (26-of-28) at the free-throw line.
“Every time we come out, it’s a time to get better and take a step forward,” McMillan said. “There’s things we didn’t do great today that we obviously got to get better at and keep improving.”
Poor shooting was a problem for the Aggies from the outset. A horrendous display put them in a deep first-half hole.
The Aggies trailed just 20-19 with 8:17 showing when Hill hit their lone 3-pointer of the first half.
That was A&M’s last field goal before intermission.
The Aggies missed their next 10 field goal attempts en route to converting just 27.3 percent in the half. Six of those misfires were from 3-point range. A&M missed 15 of 16 shots behind the arc for a frigid 6.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the bigger Mustangs dominated inside. SMU outscored A&M 24-8 in the paint.
“We let us going 1-for-17 in the first half from three affect us and our physicality at the rim,” McMillan said. “Our guys, you would think they were playing with four fouls in the first half and not scraping balls out of there at the rim, not walling up, not trying to block shots. There was a different mentality in the second half.”
Samet Yiğitoğlu, SMU’s 7-foot-2 sophomore center, scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and had two blocked shots in the first half.
Surprisingly, A&M actually held a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes. But after an SMU timeout, the game changed dramatically.
But there was another dramatic change in the second half.
The Aggies found their collective shooting touch and surged back into contention.
“We’re a high-variance team,” McMillan said. “We’re never out of a game. I knew eventually we would make threes at some point.”
Isaacs hit a 3-pointer with 6:25 remaining to launch a 13-2 run. The Aggies moved within 71-70 on a Mgbako 3-pointer with 3:18 left.
SMU answered with a bucket, but Hill and Mgbako’s hit layups for a 74-73 lead.
Then, Isaacs connected from deep to give A&M the 77-73 lead.
But then they relinquished the lead — and the win — in a rash of turnovers and missed shots.
