South Carolina's men's basketball team (11-9, 2-5 SEC) fell 92-69 to Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC) on Saturday afternoon at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas, marking its fifth conference loss and ninth overall loss on the season.
Texas A&M scored the first 2 points of the game off a driving layup. The Gamecocks then got the ball, and while junior forward Elijah Strong attempted a 3-pointer, he missed. Shortly after, redshirt senior guard Kobe Knox attempted a layup, but also missed.
A technical foul was called on Texas A&M a minute and a half into the game after Aggie senior guard Rylan Griffen taunted redshirt senior guard Meechie Johnson. Johnson made both free throws, marking the Gamecocks' first points of the game.
Turnovers and missed baskets from both teams followed, until a foul called on Johnson led to two made free throws for Texas A&M, bringing the score to 7-2.
Following the first media timeout of the game, graduate guard Myles Stute scored the Gamecocks' first field goal of the game off a Texas A&M turnover. South Carolina quickly got the ball back, allowing Johnson to score a 3-pointer, tying the score at 7-7.
Knox then scored off a jumper, and after another Texas A&M miss, Johnson also scored another 2 points with a driving layup. An additional 3-pointer scored by Knox allowed South Carolina to go on a 12-0 run, with a score of 14-7.
However, A&M responded with a 3-pointer from graduate forward Zach Clemence. Texas A&M then scored another 3-pointer from fifth-year guard Ali Dibba. While Gamecock freshman forward EJ Walker responded with a 3-pointer, graduate forward Rashaun Agee answered with yet another 3-ball.
Johnson was then fouled, and made both free throws, bringing the score to 19-16, but Agee responded with a driving layup. After misses from Johnson, Knox, Stute and senior guard Mike Sharavjamts, Texas A&M was able to go on an 11-0 run to 27-19.
Knox ultimately broke the Aggies’ scoring run with a dunk. However, missed 3-pointers from Walker and freshman guard Grant Polk led to two consecutive 3-pointers for Texas A&M, with the Aggies' lead in the double digits, 33-21.
In the midst of an 18-0 scoring drought capped by a miss from Knox, Clemence hit another 3-pointer, forcing South Carolina to call a timeout.
After another missed 3-pointer from Sharavjamts, a foul called on Stute, and a blocked layup for Texas A&M, Clemence scored another 3-pointer, bringing the score to 39-21.
With less than three minutes left in the first half, South Carolina had only scored one of its last 11 field goal attempts. A missed layup from Johnson and a missed jumper from Knox led to two more made 3-pointers for Texas A&M.
A foul called on Texas A&M sent Johnson to the free-throw line, where he made both, bringing the score to 45-23, marking the first points for South Carolina in almost five minutes.
Johnson then scored off a driving layup with 11 seconds left in the first half, but a foul called on freshman forward Hayden Assemian led to one made free throw for the Aggies. The first half ended with Texas A&M in the lead 46-25.
The Aggies opened the second half on a 6-0 run, until Johnson scored off a driving layup. Texas A&M hit another 3-pointer, but Johnson answered with a layup. After a miss from the Aggies, Knox scored 2 more points off a turnaround jumper.
The teams headed into the first media timeout of the half with a 57-31 Texas A&M lead. Afterwards, Knox headed to the free-throw line, adding 2 points for the Gamecocks.
Texas A&M then went on a 5-0 run, with the help of a 3-pointer from Clemence. South Carolina responded with a driving layup from Walker and a 3-pointer from Stute, making the score 64-38.
Yet another 6-0 Aggie run led to a timeout called by South Carolina, with Texas A&M in a comfortable 70-38 lead.
Johnson was then fouled, and he headed to the free-throw line, where he made both free throws. A second-chance dunk for Assemian and 3-pointers from Stute and Sharavjamts allowed the Gamecocks to go on a 10-0 run before the Aggies scored off a second-chance layup, making it 72-48.
Johnson answered with a stepback jumper, as well as a 3-pointer, bringing the score to 72-53. Both teams then exchanged points, including an alley-oop dunk by Assemian, with a 3-pointer from Knox cutting Texas A&M’s lead to 16 at 76-60.
An 8-0 Aggie run brought the score to 84-60. Sharavjamts made a driving layup before the Gamecocks called a timeout with a little over four minutes remaining in the game.
The Aggies went on another 5-0 run before a foul called on Texas A&M sent Johnson to the free-throw line, where he made both.
Knox scored off a pullup jumper, but Clemence answered with his seventh 3-pointer. Stute then made a 3-pointer before the game ended, with Texas A&M winning 92-69.
What's next?
South Carolina will head home to Colonial Life Arena to take on the No. 16 Florida Gators at 9 p.m. on Jan. 28. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.