Arizona Basketball: Wildcats hang on against charging Texas A&M Aggies
Arizona basketball nearly gave this game away to Texas A&M in Houston, Texas.
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In a game that originally looked like a blowout, Arizona defeated Texas A&M, 67-63, in the final seconds.
Both the Wildcats and the Aggies would start strong, using their bigs to score down low. Dusan Ristic and Lauri Markkanen put up Arizona’s first 13 points in the games opening minutes, and continued to anchor the Wildcat offense throughout the game. They finished with 18 and 17 points respectively.
Tyler Davis made an immediate impact for the Aggies, grabbing three early boards and dropping in four points in the first five minutes of the game. However, he began to struggle after taking a hard elbow to the stomach.
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The Aggies were down by just six points with a few minutes left in the first half when the Arizona offense took over. Having Markkanen and Ristic on the floor spaces out opposing defenses, allowing Arizona’s guards to attack the rim, draw a help defender and dish the ball to a big who can easily finish at the rim.
Kobi Simmons’ quick first step makes him a perfect fit to play the role of distributor. He was able to get Arizona the high percentage shots they needed to win despite hitting just three of their 15 3-point attempts.
The Aggies offense, on the other hand, was held to just 34 points in the first, largely due to several costly turnovers in the final minutes. Davis and fellow big man Robert Williams had a few impressive plays, but were held in check for the most part.
The Wildcats carried their momentum into the second half, at one point increasing their lead to 22. A&M opened the half by turning the ball over seven times, more than their total for the entire first half (6). It wasn’t until about four minutes remained in the game that A&M suddenly showed some fight.
It was the physical play of Davis and Williams, which nearly fueled the Aggies to a 20-point comeback in the final minutes. Arizona automatically doubled Davis with the ball in the low-post, but the 6’10” center was able to finish through contact, at times grabbing his own misses and drawing the whistle.
Williams showed why he is currently one of the most talked-about NBA prospects in the SEC, slashing from the top of the key for vicious dunks.
Davis and Williams’ late-game heroics would bring the Aggies back to within just two points with under a minute left. But ultimately, that wasn’t enough to complete what would’ve been the most impressive comeback of the young season.
Regardless of the scoreboard, this was a coming out party for Williams, who until now didn’t display a deep enough knowledge of his team’s offense for head coach Billy Kennedy to give him a start. His emergence as a scoring threat makes the Aggies even more dynamic heading into conference play.
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