Texas outlasts Texas A&M 94-89 in 2OT, keeps March Madness hopes alive

AUSTIN (KXAN) — There was some madness before March Madness for the Texas Longhorns in the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament Thursday in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Longhorns kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a massive 94-89 double-overtime win over Texas A&M in the second round, setting up a quarterfinal matchup at 2:30 p.m. CT Friday against the Tennessee Volunteers and former Texas head coach Rick Barnes at Bridgestone Arena.

Texas outscored Texas A&M 15-10 in the second extra frame. With 2:08 remaining, freshman Tre Johnson buried a 3-pointer to give the Longhorns an 87-85 lead, and they held on for the win.

“They dug deep tonight,” Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry said. “They found a way to get it done against a Final Four-caliber team tonight. I can’t say how proud I am of their effort and how they responded to a quick turnaround.”

Kadin Shedrick and Jordan Pope hit crucial foul shots late to seal it. While Pope is a great foul shooter at 87%, it was Shedrick’s time to shine from the stripe. Shooting 64% for the season, Shedrick made all 10 free throws, including a pair with 0:22 left to give Texas a 92-89 lead. Shedrick ended the game with 14 points.

It was a typical rough-and-tumble SEC tournament game, with the teams combining for 52 fouls and 71 foul shots. Five players fouled out, three for the Aggies and two for the Longhorns.

Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV scored a game-high 29 points with a 17-for-18 performance from the foul line. Texas made it tough for him to score from the field, shooting 5 for 18. Johnson didn’t have the best shooting game, but he came through in the second half and overtime with 15 of his 20 points. He shot 8 for 21, including 4 for 9 from 3-point range.

Johnson’s time with the Longhorns is, in all likelihood, ending soon. He’s projected to be a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft and pouring himself into the team, trying to get them to March Madness. He played 38 minutes against Vanderbilt on Thursday and 44 against the Aggies, but he said he’s got plenty left in the tank.

“I have a lot of gas left in the tank; I wasn’t too tired,” he said. “I haven’t gone to double overtime before, but it feels good to be out there playing with my brothers.”

The Longhorns led 33-27 at halftime, but the Aggies made 6 of 12 from 3-point range in the second half to help their cause, and Taylor came alive. He scored 21 points in the second half after a quiet first 20 minutes when he took four shots.

Six Longhorns scored in double figures with Tramon Mark scoring 15 on 5 of 16 shooting before fouling out. Jordan Pope had 13 points, Arthur Kaluma had 12 and Chendall Weaver chipped in 10 before fouling out. Pope led the team with eight rebounds.

The Aggies outrebounded the Longhorns 53-40 and 20-9 on the offensive end, leading to a 26-13 advantage in second-chance points. However, Texas got the ball to the rim with dribble penetration by guards to work a 32-30 advantage in paint points. Texas had six turnovers and scored 12 points off of 13 Texas A&M turnovers.

Manny Obaseki finished with 17 points and Andersson Garcia chipped in 13 before he fouled out for the Aggies.

Texas (19-14) has won twice in the SEC tournament after entering as the No. 13 seed. The NCAA Tournament selection committee picks the field of 68 Sunday, and it’s anybody’s guess if the Longhorns have done enough to get in the tournament. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi thinks that after this win, Texas will be the last team into the tournament and play in the First Four round.

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