Alabama
26-5,16-2SEC
#24 Texas A&M
23-8,15-3SEC
No. 2/2 Alabama Falls at No. 24/21 Texas A&M, 67-61, in Regular Season Finale
3/4/2023 2:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide enters postseason play having matched school a record for SEC wins (16) for the second time in the last three years
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 2/2 Alabama men's basketball team's second-half comeback fell just short as it dropped a 67-61 decision at No. 24/21 Texas A&M in the regular season finale for both teams. Despite the loss, the Crimson Tide (26-5, 16-2 SEC) ended the year as the outright regular season champions and earned the No. 1 seed in next week's SEC Men's Basketball Tournament, while the Aggies (23-8, 15-3) finished a game back of the Tide and will be the No. 2 seed.
The Aggies took the lead early on the strength of an 11-1 run midway through the first half to double-up the Tide (22-11). Texas A&M would go on to lead by as many as 15 points, helped by just 2-of-19 shooting from deep by Alabama in the opening stanza, and went into the break with a 32-22 lead.
The Tide battled back in the second half and used a 13-3 run to draw even at 45-all with just under nine minutes left to play. Alabama took a 54-51 lead moments later on a Jahvon Quinerly three-pointer; however, A&M used a 10-3 spurt over the next 2:48 to outscore UA 16-7 the rest of the way, resulting in the final score.
Brandon Miller led Alabama with 19 points and 10 boards for his seventh double-double of the season. Quinerly had 13 points and a team-leading three assists while Noah Clowney chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
Texas A&M was led by Wade Taylor IV who finished with a game-high 28 points, while Tyrece Radford added 21. Both guards combined to go 20-of-20 from the foul line, helping the Aggies hit 27-of-28 (96.4 percent) from the charity stripe as a team.
HEAD COACH NATE OATS POSTGAME COMMENTS
""Another tough game. That is four in a row we have had come down to the wire, coming off a hard-fought win Wednesday against Auburn. Texas A&M made us play hard for this one, which we expected, and we just didn't quite have enough. They were up ready to go, and we weren't. We can't keep coming out of the gate getting down double-digits in the first half. I think this is three straight games we have been down double-digits in the first half. I thought our effort was decent, we just had too many turnovers and could not make a shot. We had too many mistakes on defense and they came ready to play. It turned out to be a great game for the fans but there was a lot of things we didn't do well. We fouled them too much, turned it over 18 times and they went 27-of-28 from the free-throw line. All that is not a recipe for a win. We are going to get our guys refocused. We are still the No. 1 seed for the SEC Tournament, so we will bounce back and be ready to play on Friday."
TEAM STATS
- The Tide owned a 43-34 advantage on the boards, including a 15-6 edge on the glass which helped result in a 16-4 Alabama edge in second chance points
- Both teams shot 34 percent from the field for the contest, while UA hit 7-of-36 (19.4 percent) from deep while A&M hit 4-of-16 (25.0 percent) from beyond the arc
- Texas A&M led for 35:50 of the 40-minute game, with the Tide only leading for 30 seconds
- Compared to the Aggies' 28 foul shots, Alabama connected on 10-of-11 (90.9 percent) from the charity stripe
- The Tide finished the game with 18 turnovers and just nine assists
FIRST HALF
- Brandon Miller led UA with 10 points along with five rebounds
- For the third straight game, Alabama was down double-digits in the first half, as the Aggies biggest lead was 15 points (31-17)
- Texas A&M outscored Alabama 18-8 inside the paint
- The Aggies had a pair of double-digit scorers in the first half led by Wade Taylor IV's 11 points
- Despite committing 10 turnovers, The Tide's defense held Texas A&M to 35 percent from the field
SECOND HALF
- After a pair of A&M free throws extended the lead to 12, its largest of the half
- Trailing by 10 at the 12:45 mark, Alabama scored eight-straight over the next 1:35 to trim the deficit to two points, 42-40
- The two teams went back and forth over the next four-plus minutes as Alabama tied Texas A&M four different times before Jahvon Quinerly's three-pointer gave UA a 54-51 lead with 4:47 to play
- Quinerly finished with 10 points in the half while Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney each had nine
UP NEXT
- Alabama will play its first game in the 2023 SEC Tournament Friday afternoon
- The contest will tipoff at 1 p.m. CT and air live on ESPN
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
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