Texas A&M Collapses in Second Half in Brutal Loss to UCF

The Aggies had another early season opportunity to take on a quality opponent to add to its resume but failed again.

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Bucky McMillan reacts during the second half against the Texas Southern Tigers at Reed Arena. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Trust Bucky McMillan and his roster. 

That was the message spread this week by the program's leader. 

Being early in the season, it might be difficult to believe those words after the up-and-down three games, but the Texas A&M offense and defense addressed some of their problems in practice that they learned from the last road trip. There’s just more to clean up. 

There was a brief reminder to the 12th Man that there were going to be highs and there were going to be lows from McMillan. Tonight, the Aggies proved that this roster is simply going through a low stretch. The Knights figured out how to shoot the three, draw fouls and register fast break points in an 86-74 win over Texas A&M at Reed Arena.

Texas A&M Still Without Star Player

Nov 6, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies center Federiko Federiko (33) reacts during the second half against the Texas Southern Tigers at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Reports from this week were trending in the right direction that the Aggies would be close to receiving back one of their sharpest shooters, junior Mackenzie Mgbako. He was dealing with a foot injury that prevented him from starting the season on time and getting reps with his new teammates.

Every fan was waiting to see if Mgbako would be healthy enough to give it a go. McMillan said that he was able to practice with the team this week, so it would be possible to see him. During pregame warmups, Mgbako was spotted but was the last player on the court. 

Based on what McMilan said about him likely being back in a timeline, possibly within the next 10 days, the Indiana transfer had to wait a little longer, as he did not enter the game. Having his presence on the court would’ve bolstered the rotation with another big body to help. 

Between Rashaun Agee, Federiko Federiko, and Zach Clemence, the experienced ball handlers helped handle the defense that forced UCF to turn the ball over nine times at intermission, give up eight points in the paint, and shoot only 37 percent from the field on 27 attempts.

One of the Knights' best shooters, Riley Kugel, began his night on the floor slowly with only four points. The guard, who was familiar with playing SEC teams since he used to play for Mississippi State and Florida, was not intimidated by the crazy environment at Reed Arena and was never afraid to let the ball fly. He couldn’t knock much down until later. 

His teammate, Jordan Burks, who entered the night tied for the second most minutes on UCF’s team, averaged 24.3 minutes with 11 points, forcing the Aggies to scramble across the floor and wearing down the Aggies' defense. His first half tested the Aggies, where he shot only 1 of 5 from the field, making only one three. His teammate, John Bol, led the Knights with seven points, giving the offense fuel. 

A&M’s offense responded when the dynamic duo heated up, with Clemence leading the team at halftime with eight points. In the rebound category, A&M led UCF with seven offensive rebounds and 14 defensive rebounds. One of the most significant factors that kept it close was knocking down five threes, but there were struggles to finish at the basket. 

Latter Half

It felt like the Aggies came out of the locker room wanting the game more, with a nice shooting display that opened up after the intermission. That obviously changed.

Part of the formula that led A&M to play with a faster tempo compared to its previous pace was the play from two unselfish players, Pop Isaacs and Ruben Dominguez, who started heating up behind the arc with back-to-back threes. 

Graduate Marcus Hill also started accumulating more points than he held in the first half, with five points in the opening six minutes of the second half. Part of the team rotation at the timeouts was a reason for A&M to jump out to a 22-12 run until the 12-minute mark. 

Within the first 10 minutes, McMillan’s squad captured its largest lead of 14 points by applying aggressive defense, where each defender locked onto a specific Knight. Points recorded from forcing turnovers factored into being one of the significant differences. With under 10 minutes remaining, the Aggies’ defense registered 18 points off turnovers and extended the hard-core mindset. 

A little reckless basketball from A&M got UCF back in the game at the eight-minute mark after an 8-0 run courtesy from the three falling on numerous possessions that quickly had the 12th Man quiet. Within this period, getting to the free-throw line was part of the problem for the defense. 

Within the blink of an eye, the Knights’ offense went on a 15-2 run where it drilled four of its five field goals with the game knotted at 63. Before long, McMillan's squad trailed by five, where it found itself inching back. 

A great job of feeding the ball around the perimeter from UCF was an issue for A&M. 

The Knights poured it on in the late minutes, where self-inflicted wounds kept occurring as the Aggies got beaten and caught in the air. Kugel and Burks had a massive second half combining for 33, and it paid off to play them later in the game.  

Through the night, A&M’s offense shot 37 percent from the field. From downtown, A&M only registered nine three-pointers off 29 attempts with 24 paint points. On the other hand, UCF went 50 percent from the field, made 14 threes, and made 16 of its 17 free throws.