UC Irvine edges out Aggies in early season upset at Reed Arena, 74-73
The Aggies lost a heartbreaker in their second game of the season on Friday, dropping a 74-73 contest to the UC Irvine Anteaters.
Continuing head coach Billy Kennedy’s game plan to play small, four of the five A&M starters were conventional backcourt players. Of the starters, only 6'8" Christian Mekawulu played inside the three-point arc on offense. The four man out offense allowed the Aggies to get plenty of looks from deep, but the team failed to convert throughout the game. They finished just 6-28 (21.4%) on three-point attempts.
A strong shooting performance from UC Irving kept the Anteaters in it throughout the game. At the break, UC Irvine was shooting 50% from the 3-point line; they finished 9-21 from outside. Their offensive attack was anchored by redshirt junior guard Max Hazzard, who finished with 19 points, shooting 5-8 for three.
A 3 pointer from Jay Jay Chandler at the first half buzzer after a block by Isiah Jasey gave the Aggies the momentum heading into the break. They took their biggest lead of the game a little over two minutes into the second half – 14 points. Momentum slowly shifted in favor of the Anteaters, as UC Irving made a push throughout the remainder of the second half, ultimately winning on a game winning 12-footer from Eyassu Worku with only five seconds remaining.
“I’m disappointed,” Billy Kennedy said. “I thought it was a hard-fought game. They made one more play down the stretch than we did.”
The Aggie point leader was Josh Nebo with 15. Other notable offensive performances came from Jay Jay Chandler (12 points on 5-10 shooting) and John Walker (11 points on 3-6 shooting).
The Aggies put together another strong showing on the offensive boards, finishing with 18, 8 more rebounds than UC Irvine. They improved in free throw shooting as well, converting on 19 of their 26 chances at the charity stripe.
While the team improved in taking care of the basketball from last game, starters Savion Flagg and TJ Starks combined for 6 of the team’s 14 turnovers. Both Flagg and Starks struggled to find their rhythm tonight, combining for just 19 points on 30 shot attempts.
Josh Nebo saw an increase in minutes following his 10-point performance against Savannah State, playing 21 minutes compared to 14 in the previous match. He made the most of his time on the floor, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds, 7 of which came on the offensive end of the floor.
“Go out and be aggressive,” Nebo said was his mentality on the offensive side of the floor. “Go out and play hard every night and do my job.”
Texas A&M was again without returning starter Admon Gilder and junior college transfer Wendell Mitchell for tonight’s game – who both have knee injuries
“We are still trying to figure it out,” Kennedy said of Gilder’s injury. “He had an appointment this morning; we aren’t sure that he’s going to back soon.”
Having Gilder out for an extended period will be a tough loss for the team, who misses his experience and leadership on both ends of the floor.
The Aggies will face an enormous test when they head to Spokane to face off against No. 3 Gonzaga for their next game on November 15.