Aggies Fall Short Against Memphis Despite Second Half Push
The college basketball season has begun to heat up and the Aggies are seeing a serious increase in competition level. Texas A&M came into its Saturday night showdown against Memphis having won four of its last five games.
The Aggies got off to a slow start, going into halftime down by nine points, and were never able to recover, falling 83-79, despite a stronger second-half showing. The loss marks the Aggies' first stumble on the road in this young season.
Aggies guard Wade Taylor IV led the way on the scoreboard, pouring in 25 points on the evening. The sophomore made only six of his 16 shots, though, and the rest of the Aggies weren't much more accurate.
A&M finished the game shooting 38 percent from the field and 33 percent from beyond the arc. Memphis, on the other hand, shot over 56 percent from the floor, with five Tigers scoring nine or more points.
The Tigers did a lot of their work on the defensive end as well, recording 11 steals and seven blocks on the night.
Memphis F DeAndre Williams finished with two of each, along with fifteen points before fouling out. Tigers guard Kendric Davis led that side in scoring with 23 points, hitting 14 of 16 free throws while adding nine assists and three steals to his final stat line.
Once again, a lackluster first half put the Aggies in a hole too deep for them to climb out of. Trailing by nine at halftime is a tall task for any team, especially one that makes only 22 shots all night.
To their credit, the Aggies did outbound the Tigers 37 to 26, which helped them push back in the second half. Junior forward Julius Marble was one of A&M's bright spots, making all six of his shots and hauling in five boards.
Now, head coach Buzz Williams and his squad will return home to familiar territory for three home games before they open up conference play on Jan 4 against the Florida Gators.
The SEC is looking as tough as ever, and the Aggies definitely have some things to clean up before that January game, but they're on the right track, even with this loss hanging over their heads. Once things start to mesh a little more, the shots will begin to fall, and A&M should be right in the SEC mix by season's end.
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