Inconsistent Mizzou basketball falls to Texas A&M 67-64 after second-half collapse

Texas A&M's Quenton Jackson, center, is defended by Missouri's Trevon Brazile, right, and Javon Pickett, back, during the first half of a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
Texas A&M's Quenton Jackson, center, is defended by Missouri's Trevon Brazile, right, and Javon Pickett, back, during the first half of a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
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The Tigers' search for consistency continues.

Missouri men's basketball held a 10-point halftime lead and forced Texas A&M into multiple scoring droughts Saturday afternoon. Conversely, the Tigers struggled to cushion their lead any further and were outplayed on the offensive boards.

The Aggies took advantage of Missouri's second-half mistakes — including 11 turnovers — to down the Tigers 67-64 in front of a crowd of 7,989 at Mizzou Arena.

Boogie Coleman's 3-point attempt hit off the rim at the final buzzer, sending Missouri to 7-9 overall and 1-3 in Southeastern Conference play.

Texas A&M improves to 15-2 overall and 4-0 in the SEC with its eighth straight victory.

Texas A&M guard Andre Gordon (20) blocks the shot of Missouri forward Trevon Brazile (23) during a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
Texas A&M guard Andre Gordon (20) blocks the shot of Missouri forward Trevon Brazile (23) during a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

"There were some uncharacteristic turnovers," Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin about his team in the second half. "Give (Texas A&M) credit for winning the game."

Every bright spot for Missouri seemed to be marred by a turnover; every Missouri run slashed by an Aggie bucket. The Tigers faced foul trouble, with multiple starters carrying four personal fouls late in the contest.

Martin said he didn't think those fouls made the defense passive down the stretch.

An offensive foul by Texas A&M gave Missouri the ball with a chance to take the lead with under two minutes to play, but an errant pass thwarted the opportunity. Tyrece Radford put the Aggies ahead for good with a layup with 1:02 remaining.

After Missouri's Kobe Brown missed the front end of a 1-and-1, the Aggies secured the rebound, called timeout and made two free throws after a foul to go up 65-61.

Coleman connected on a clutch 3 for Missouri with six seconds left to pull within one, but Hassan Diarra nailed two free throws on the other end before Coleman's desperation heave from near half court was just off the mark as time expired.

Texas A&M guard Aaron Cash (0) blocks the shot of Missouri forward Trevon Brazile (23) during a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
Texas A&M guard Aaron Cash (0) blocks the shot of Missouri forward Trevon Brazile (23) during a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

The final five minutes were a sharp contrast for Texas A&M, which never led over the first 35 minutes of the game and was extremely sloppy in the first half from the tip. Missouri put the Aggies in a 10-0 hole to start the game.

The Tigers took advantage but never to where they had complete control.

Missouri kept its lead around five to seven points in the first half with timely baskets from Amari Davis, Ronnie DeGray and DaJuan Gordon.

After Missouri led 56-49 with 7:45 left in regulation, Texas A&M finished on an 18-8 spurt.

Gordon tied the game at 61 with two minutes remaining before the Aggies closed it out.

Texas A&M's ridiculously cold start

Texas A&M guard Hassan Diarra (5) shoots as Missouri forward Yaya Keita (11) defends during a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
Texas A&M guard Hassan Diarra (5) shoots as Missouri forward Yaya Keita (11) defends during a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

The National Weather Service accurately called for winter weather Saturday, and Texas A&M took that to heart to start the game.

The Aggies were frigid from the tip and didn't score their first basket until the 11:07 mark of the first half. They were 0-for-13 from the field to start the game.

Missouri got solid post defense from Brown, DeGray and Trevon Brazile.

"I thought we played with a lot more toughness today," Martin said, proud of his team's bounce-back from an ugly 87-43 loss at Arkansas on Wednesday.

The Tigers started 4 of 4 from the field Saturday but then cooled off.

Texas A&M heated up enough to force a timeout from Martin as the Aggies trimmed the Tigers' lead to 18-12 with 8:04 left until halftime.

Missouri carried a 34-24 lead into the break.

Missouri's even scoring distribution

Missouri guard Javon Pickett (4) shoots as Texas A&M forward Javonte Brown (31) defends during a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
Missouri guard Javon Pickett (4) shoots as Texas A&M forward Javonte Brown (31) defends during a game Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

A bright spot for Missouri was the well-rounded output from its starters and bench.

Six Tigers scored at least seven points on the afternoon, showcasing even scoring distribution across the starting five and bench.

Three players ended up with double figures for MU: Coleman with 14, and Javon Pickett and Gordon with 11 apiece.

Their production was a bright spot for Missouri, as was its 47% shooting from the floor.

But turnovers kept getting in the way, leading to the Aggies fighting back into the game and ultimately prevailing.

Texas A&M 67, Missouri 64

TEXAS A&M (15-2)

H.Coleman 7-15 4-6 18, Henderson 0-1 1-2 1, A.Gordon 2-4 2-2 7, Radford 5-9 1-2 13, Williams 4-11 2-4 10, Jackson 3-7 3-4 9, Cash 0-0 0-0 0, Diarra 3-6 2-2 9, Taylor 0-7 0-0 0, Obaseki 0-2 0-0 0, Hefner 0-0 0-0 0, J.Brown 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-63 15-22 67.

MISSOURI (7-9)

Brazile 2-4 0-1 4, Ko.Brown 3-7 1-2 7, J.Coleman 4-8 4-4 14, D.Gordon 4-9 1-2 11, Pickett 5-10 1-2 11, Davis 2-7 3-3 7, DeGray 4-6 0-1 8, Keita 1-2 0-0 2, Ka.Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-53 10-15 64.

Halftime: Missouri 34-24.

3-Point Goals: Texas A&M 4-17 (Radford 2-3, Diarra 1-2, A.Gordon 1-2, Jackson 0-2, Williams 0-3, Taylor 0-5), Missouri 4-11 (J.Coleman 2-4, D.Gordon 2-4, Davis 0-1, DeGray 0-1, Pickett 0-1).

Rebounds: Texas A&M 31 (A.Gordon, Cash 6), Missouri 33 (Ko.Brown 9).

Assists: Texas A&M 9 (Williams 6), Missouri 16 (Davis 5).

Total Fouls: Texas A&M 17, Missouri 21.

Fouled Out: Jackson.

A: 7,989 (15,061).

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 435-414-3261.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Mizzou falls to Texas A&M with second-half collapse