Texas Longhorns Outmuscled by Texas A&M Aggies in SEC Opener

COLLEGE STATION -- Texas Longhorns men's basketball has some things to figure out as the SEC gauntlet gets started, something the team learned the hard way in a rivalry loss to the Texas A&M Aggies.

No. 13 Texas A&M outmuscled unranked Texas in the SEC opener at Reed Arena on Saturday, using a massive scoring edge in the paint to secure a 80-60 win. The Aggies finished with a 48-16 advantage in paint points despite only shooting 2 of 19 from 3-point range.

Texas A&M guard Zhuric Phelps finished with a game-high 18 points while Wade Taylor IV added 13 points.

The Longhorns got a team-high 14 points from guard Tramon Mark while freshman star Tre Johnson was held to 11 points on 2 of 13 shooting.

Jan 4, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies forward Solomon Washington (9) secures the rebound as Texas Longhorns guard Chendall Weaver (2) fouls him during the first half at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Texas A&M scored the first four points but five early points from Kaluma helped the Longhorns build a 10-6 lead. This grew to five after a 6-0 run that featured three free throws from Johnson and a triple from Mark, but the Aggies answered.

Mark stayed hot and hit another 3 to give Texas its biggest lead of eight at 21-13. Phelps and Coleman responded with two quick buckets before Jordan Pope hit another triple for Texas, giving the Longhorns their fourth 3-point make at the 9:05 mark of the first half.

Washington helped spark a 6-0 run before a strange sequence. After Taylor IV nailed a deep 3, he was hit with a questionable technical foul, assumably for celebrating. Johnson hit both free throws and Jayson Kent swished a triple, giving the Longhorns a five-point possession.

However, Texas' foul trouble and defensive struggles in the paint continued, as the Aggies kept getting to the rim and drawing whistles. Texas A&M used a 10-0 run that featured six made free throws to take a 36-32 lead. Texas answered with a triple from Pope and a tough bucket in transistion from Julian Larry.

The two rivals headed into halftime tied at 37.

Texas A&M stifled Texas to begin the second half and used an 11-2 run that featured seven points from Phelps to build its biggest lead up to that point of nine at 48-39.

The Longhorns got back into it with a 9-1 run that cut the lead to 57-52, but the Aggies continued to get almost anything they wanted in the paint and prevented Texas from rallying back to a single-possession game.

Things will hardly get easier for the Longhorns, who host the No. 2 Auburn Tigers in Austin on Tuesday.

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