Texas A&M Secures Victory Over Texas in Lone Star Showdown

AUSTIN, Texas — In a thrilling matchup that saw the Texas A&M Aggies overcome the Texas Longhorns 74-70 at the Moody Center on Saturday, the Aggies managed to end an 11-game home winning streak for the Longhorns in the Lone Star Showdown. The game was marked by key runs from both teams, with A&M’s 11-2 surge before halftime and a 9-2 run after halftime proving to be the difference.

Key Performances

Forward Rashaun Agee played a pivotal role, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Guard Rylen Griffen was equally impressive, contributing all 17 of his points in the second half. He shot 6-of-7 from the field, including four three-pointers, with three of those coming within the first three and a half minutes after halftime. On the Texas side, four players reached double digits, including senior guard Jordan Pope and junior wing Dailyn Swain, each scoring 17 points.

Texas faced challenges against the A&M press, turning the ball over only eight times. However, the Aggies capitalized on these opportunities, outscoring the Longhorns 15-5 in points off turnovers. Additionally, the deep bench of head coach Bucky McMillan’s team proved instrumental, as Texas A&M outscored Texas 20-6 in bench points. Senior guard Chendall Weaver struggled, finishing with a minus-16 rating, while junior guard Simeon Wilcher combined with him to shoot just 1-of-10.

Despite the Longhorns’ efforts to limit A&M’s three-point shooting, the Aggies managed to get the ball into the paint, securing a 12-point advantage in that category.

Game Highlights

The game started with some physicality, especially from the Aggies as they executed their pressing defense. Early in the game, a missed three by Agee led to a skip pass and open triple for Pope, who made the shot. Swain also had a strong finish near the rim through uncalled contact. By the under-16 timeout, A&M had been called for three fouls, and Texas held a 7-5 lead.

However, the Longhorns struggled offensively, missing eight of nine shots. The Aggies didn’t capitalize on this, as the home team forced contested looks. By the second media timeout, the score was only 10-9, which was lower than expected for what was projected as a high-scoring game.

After the under-12 break, the scoring drought continued for Texas. Vokietaitis turned it over on a rare post touch, and then got posterized by Jamie Vinson. Weaver’s shot was blocked at the rim, but his hustle earned an extra possession. Another miss by Pope extended the scoring drought to five minutes, during which the Aggies had a 7-0 run.

Vokietaitis broke the drought with a free throw, and Mark found Cam Heide in the corner for a three-pointer. Mark followed with a strong drive to finish in traffic. Despite defensive rebounding issues, a second-chance opportunity for the Aggies produced a three-point play, giving A&M a 16-15 lead at the under-eight timeout.

Second Half Surge

The second half began poorly for Texas, with Vokietaitis turning it over and Heide fouling a three-point shooter. Mark responded with a mid-range jumper, but a second-chance opportunity for A&M extended the lead to seven points. Texas called a timeout at the 17:13 mark with the Aggies on a 9-2 run to start the second half.

Pope hit a three to cut the deficit, but Wilcher gave up a three and was called for a push-off. A three-point play extended the A&M lead to 10 points before Vokietaitis scored through contact to cut into the margin at the under-16 timeout.

Vokietaitis missed the free throw, leading to a sequence that looked like one of the lowest points for Texas this season. Heide threw the ball away, and then gave up a driving layup. An alley-oop to Vinson, who dunked on Vokietaitis, stretched the deficit back to 10 points.

Swain quickly cut into the deficit with four straight points, including a steal that led to a breakaway dunk. However, he couldn’t convert another opportunity at the rim, and Pope fouled a three-point shooter on the other end. Dominguez made all three, and at the under-12 timeout, the A&M lead remained at 10 points.

Backdoor cuts were producing easy baskets for the Aggies as the Longhorns’ defense broke down. Pope hit a three to cut the deficit to six points, but Texas committed a foul on the other end, sending Rueben Agee to the line where he hit both free throws. He then finished through Vokietaitis to push the lead back to double digits with less than nine minutes remaining.

After Pope cut the deficit to six points again, Heide gave up a straight-line drive to the rim, and good ball movement by the Aggies produced a three with 5:51 remaining that felt decisive enough for Miller to call a timeout two seconds later.

A ball reversal opened up a baseline drive by Mark for a layup out of the timeout. Pop Isaacs responded with a three, and Pope hit a step-back triple and was fouled for a four-point play to cut the deficit to six. Another defensive breakdown allowed a layup, and the Horns quickly gave back the momentum. Prior to the under-four timeout, Swain had the ball stolen in traffic and Weaver committed a foul to stop a layup down eight points.

If the earlier three by A&M wasn’t decisive enough, the late-clock triple hit by Jacari Lane to extend the lead to 11 points with 3:02 remaining certainly felt like it, prompting another timeout by Miller.

Texas didn’t give up, cutting the margin to three points with seven seconds remaining behind an 8-0 run. With a one-and-one at the line, A&M made the first, took a timeout, and missed the second, but the Horns only managed to get a final shot off, missing it to end the game.

Having missed two chances to secure two conference home wins as the win-expectancy favorite, Texas travels to face Kentucky on Wednesday at Rupp Arena.