In the first 20 minutes, Texas men’s basketball looked like it could win the game against No. 13 Texas A&M. The intensity on the court was high, defending against the top offensive rebound team in the country in front of a sold-out crowd of loud rival fans.
However, Texas could not keep up the intensity through the second half. In their Southeastern Conference debut, the Longhorns fell to the Aggies 80-60 in the Lone Star Showdown.
“For 20 minutes we did as good a job as we’ve done all year long, I thought our guys competed at a high level,” head coach Rodney Terry said. “We got away from that little bit (in the second half) when we gave them some second chance opportunities, with guys crashing from the wings … and we have to be more physical in that regard.”
Playing a team that has limited all of its opponents so far to below their current season-long field goal percentage, the Longhorns recorded a field goal percentage of 34.6% and put the Aggies on the free throw line 24 times.
“I know they got the momentum going with being more physical, crashing the grass a little harder, and winning 50/50 balls,” senior forward Arthur Kaluma said. “We just didn’t get it done.”
In the first half, Texas started strong, outshooting A&M on the three-point line and keeping high intensity off the glass. The Longhorns were able to shut down the Aggies to only one triple in the first half, while they made six.
With space in front of him, junior guard Jordan Pope took a three-point shot, easily going into the net and breaking a five-minute scoring drought towards the end of the half.
Pope led the team in triples against the Aggies, making three out of six attempts. In an uncharacteristic night for freshman guard Tre Johnson, the five-star recruit didn’t make a single three-pointer, ending with 11 points total.
Both teams made only one additional three-pointer after the first half ended tied at 37.
After coming back from the locker room in the second half, the game began falling apart for the Longhorns. The Aggies started the period scoring seven uncontested points, building a large lead that the Longhorns struggled to overcome.
The Longhorns were just unable to find the net, but for a moment it seemed like Texas would be able to make a comeback, bringing the 11 point lead down to only five, but the team was unable to fully take advantage of the shift in momentum.
“I thought we let our offense affect our defense,” Terry said. “The first half, we did a good job of sitting down, hitting hard, and even when they had to run in the first half, we were ready to come back and have really good stops defensively.”
Texas will need to figure out how to build intensity before its next game, where the team will face another tough opponent in No. 2 Auburn at home on Jan. 7 at 8 p.m.
