Championship Run Ends as A&M Falls to Xavier in NIT Final
The Texas A&M Aggies were looking for one final get-back at the NCAA selection committee headed into the NIT Championship against the Xavier Musketeers Thursday night in New York City.
And despite going back and forth with the Musketeers in the second half, the No. 1 seed Aggies fell just short of proving the doubters wrong, falling to the No. 2 seed Xavier, 73-72. A go-ahead shot by Musketeers forward Jack Nunge with four seconds left proved the be the difference.
A&M (27-13) guard Tyrece Radford nearly had a heroic finish to the season at MSG, but his game-winner rattled out at the buzzer.
Gregory Fisher, USA Today
The Aggies' two-game trip to Madison Square Garden now concludes after an easy win over Washington State in the semifinal Tuesday. A&M guard Quenton Jackson, who averaged 20.5 points in the two games at MSG, led all scorers with 23 points in the title game.
Xavier (23-13) guard Colby Jones led the way for Musketeers with 21 points and four rebounds, as the team shot 48 percent from the floor to secure the win despite going just 53 percent from the foul line.
A&M got down 15-6 early after a few sloppy turnovers and missed assignments on defense. The Aggies only had 11 points through the first 10 minutes but kept it close before taking a 20-19 lead with seven minutes remaining after Hassan Diarra’s 3-pointer capped a 14-4 run.
Diarra continued to look comfortable playing in his hometown in the closing stages of the first half, knocking down another deep 3-pointer to give A&M a 31-26 lead.
Jackson and Radford combined for nine points in the final three minutes to give the Aggies a 40-32 lead heading into the locker room. Jackson (12 points) and Diarra (10) led the way for A&M through 20 minutes.
Gregory Fisher, USA Today
Xavier's Jones led all scorers with 14 at the half after hitting a layup at the buzzer. After leading by as many as nine early on, the Musketeers were outscored 34-17 and trailed by as many as 10. The Aggies had held Xavier to 18.2 percent shooting from deep.
Things flipped quickly to begin the second half, as the Aggies went nearly five minutes without a field goal. After Radford finally gave A&M life with a make from deep, Xavier responded with back-to-back 3s to cut the Aggies' lead to 52-51.
The two teams traded the lead for four-straight possessions after Radford's highlight-reel layup gave A&M a 56-55 with under 10 to play.
The back-and-forth contest continued into the game's final minutes. The Musketeers were clinging to a 71-70 lead with 1:12 to play
Gregory Fisher, USA Today
With 27 seconds left, Jackson stepped up once again. He earned a trip to the foul line and knocked down both free throws to give A&M a 72-71 edge.
But it didn't prove to be enough. Nunge's go-ahead bucket banked off the glass with four ticks left before the Aggies were forced to call a timeout to draw up a play.
Radford's missed runner at the buzzer signals the end of what was a memorable season for the Aggies, who suffered through an eight-game losing streak before making it to the SEC title game.
A&M and coach Buzz Williams now enter an offseason that is sure to see major roster changes.
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