Texas Longhorns Knock Texas A&M Out of SEC Tournament in 2OT Thriller

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns are starting to experience the magic of March at the SEC Tournament in Nashville.

Tre Johnson scored a team-high 20 points and the Longhorns potentiially saved their season with an emotional 94-89 double overtime win over the Texas A&M Aggies on Thursday. Both teams battled through massive momentum swings but it was the desperate Longhorns that clawed their way to the finish line and one step closer toward an NCAA Tournament bid.

Texas guard Tramon Mark finished with 15 points and five assists as the lead initiator. He fouled out in the second overtime after hitting a massive 3-pointer that kept the Longhorns alive.

"Our team is built like that," Mark told SEC Network after the game. "We knew what we had to do coming into this game, and we got it done. Man, I'm just so proud of our team, even though I fouled out I was still supporting my team from the end, I was so happy for them. I'm glad we got that win."

Texas A&M Aggies forward Henry Coleman III (15) guards Texas Longhorns guard Julian Larry (1) during their second round game of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 13, 2025. | Nicole Hester / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor had a game-high 29 points on 17 of 18 from the free throw line. The Aggies dominated the boards in the second half before finishing with a 53-40 rebounding edge. However, Texas had a 32-20 advantage for points in the paint and committed just six turnovers to A&M's 13.

Texas got massive efforts from Arthur Kaluma (12 points, seven rebounds) and Chendall Weaver (10 points, six rebounds) along with Kadin Shedrick, who had 14 points on 10 of 10 from the foul line. He also had a game-tying dunk in the final seconds of the first overtime. But it was the efforts in both overtime periods from guard Jordan Pope that sealed the win. He scored seven points in the overtime periods, finishing with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

The Aggies also got 17 points from Manny Obaseki while Henry Coleman III had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Texas A&M forward Andersson Garcia came out of nowhere and hit a career-high four 3-pointers, finishing with 13 points and 10 reounds.

Texas A&M guard Zhuric Phelps had nine points on 3 of 19 shooting.

Despite Taylor's impressive day at the foul line, the Aggies finished 27 of 40 as a team. Texas A&M forward Pharrel Payne went 3 of 8 on free throws.

Texas A&M started the game allowing no room on defense for Texas but the Longhorns eventually settled in. The Longhorns beat the Aggies at their own game in the first half, winning points in the paint 18-6 and the rebounding battle 22-20.

Garcia and Johnson traded triples five minutes into the game. After Taylor IV gave A&M a 12-9 lead at the 13:10 mark, Texas responded with a 6-0 run on three straight buckets at the rim to take a 15-12 lead. Phelps tied things up on the next possession with a 3-pointer.

Texas then had its best stretch of the first half with an 8-0 run that once again featured all paint points. With Mark facilitating the offense and Kaluma getting physical in the paint, the Longhorns eventually built their biggest lead of nine at 29-20 with 2:20 to play in the half.

Garica and Pope traded 3-pointers right before halftime as Texas headed into the locker room with a 33-27 lead. Kaluma led the Longhorns with seven points and five rebounds while Mark had five points and four assists. Johnson held to five points on 2 of 8 shooting in the first half.

The Aggies came out of halftime looking like a different team. They became more active on the boards, all while Garcia suddenly started going off from behind the arc. Texas A&M took a 40-36 lead after a tough 3 from Taylor IV.

Texas weathered the storm thanks to a resurgence from Johnson, who found Kaluma on an alley-oop dunk before registering another assist to Weaver on a catch-and-shoot triple. Weaver followed that up with a putback dunk before Johnson started to find his rhythm from outside. He scored eight straight points for Texas, which included two more 3s.

Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) drives the paint against Texas A&M during their second round game of the SEC Men's Basketball Tournament at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 13, 2025. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Shedrick then answered an acrobatic and-one from Taylor IV with four straight makes at the free throw line. Despite getting hit hard during the first half, Shedrick started to pick up his physicality. He followed up the four foul shots with a tip-out to Johnson, who dribbled past the defense and found Mark for a corner 3-pointer. The Longhorns had matched their largest lead of nine at 62-53 with 8:21 left.

Unsurprisingly, the Aggies fought their way back. With Mark in foul trouble and Taylor IV continuing to get to the free throw line, Texas A&M cut the lead to one at 67-66 with 2:53 to play.

The Longhorns had a chance to win at the end of regulation with a jumper from Mark but it came up short.

In the first overtime, the Aggies built a five-point lead after a triple from Obaseki. A&M had a 78-74 lead with 1:05 left before Pope hit a corner 3 to cut the lead to one. Payne went 1 of 2 from the free throw line before Shedrick got his game-tying dunk with four seconds to play and send the game to a second overtime.

In the second overtime, Pope then made an unbelievable no-look pass from under the basket to the top of the key to Johnson, who rolled in a deep triple. Pope followed this up by bouncing in a jumper off the dribble to put Texas up and seal the win.

The Longhorns will now face Tennessee on Friday.

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