Last-second lapse causes another painful loss in Fayetteville for A&M

Bud Walton Arena typically has been a torture chamber for Texas A&M.

The Aggies (10-7, 1-3) suffered another excruciating visit there on Tuesday night.

Arkansas’ Tramon Mark hit a jumper with one second remaining to steal a 78-77 victory over A&M in a hard-fought, foul-filled Southeastern Conference basketball clash.

Mark’s final shot negated an amazing rally by the Aggies, who trailed by 20 points in the first half and by 10 with less than five minutes in the game.

It was A&M’s 16th loss in 17 games at Bud Walton.

The Aggies were tantalizingly close to picking up a rare victory in Fayetteville.

Wade Taylor IV, who scored a game-high 41 points, nailed a leaning 3-pointer from the top-of-the-key for a 77-76 lead with 7.8 seconds left.

It was A&M’s only lead of the game.

After a timeout, Mark took an inbounds pass and made his way down court for a runner with a second left.

A&M couldn’t get another shot off.

“I thought we started really bad,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “I think we were down 20 at the second ATO (automatic timeout) of the first half. I didn’t think were very good the remaining 12 minutes of the first half.

“But in the second half we were much more like what we have to be. We were much better in the second half. Incredible resilience.

“We did a lot of good things. I really appreciate the fight and togetherness we showed. We just dug a really big hole in the first half.”

Indeed, that A&M was in position to win was remarkable. The Aggies shot just 32.4 percent from the field, hit only 20.7 percent from 3-point range and 69.7 percent at the foul line.

However, they compensated by grabbing 19 offensive rebounds that turned into 25 points.

A&M’s shooting was particularly errant in the first half. The Aggies shot just 6.7 percent (1-of-15) from 3-point range.

As a result, they twice fell behind by as many as 20 points and trailed 46-32 at the break.

The Aggies were without starting forward Henry Coleman III, sidelined by an undisclosed injury. Also, forward Solomon Washington and Wildens Leveque both got in early foul trouble and were limited to just seven points in the first half.

Jamie Maury, TexAgs

Wade Taylor IV and Andersson Garcia were the only Aggies to convert more than two field goals on Tuesday.

Both would foul out.

Meanwhile, Arkansas was scorching in the first half. The Razorbacks, who broke a three-game losing streak, hit 6 of their first 10 shots to race out to a 17-3 lead.

Arkansas shot 53.8 percent in the half. That included 5-of-10 from 3-point range.

However, the second half was a complete reversal.

Led by Taylor, who scored 29 points in the second half, A&M shot 36.1 percent from the field and hit five times from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes.

Arkansas shot just 24 percent in the second half (6-of-25). But the Hogs compensated by converting 18-of-26 free throws. Overall, Arkansas 31-of-40 free throws.

The Razorbacks held  a 70-60 lead after a 3-pointer by guard Davonte Davis with 6:03 to play.

A&M didn’t cut into that margin until Andersson Garcia, who had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds, scored on a goal tending call with 4:30 left.

The Aggies steadily cut into the margin until Taylor scored a layup with 50 seconds left to complete an 11-1 run and forge a 74-74 tie.

Mark hit a free throw with 27 seconds left. He added another with 14 seconds remaining that gave the Razorbacks a 76-74 lead.

Taylor answered with a 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds to go.

That was just enough time for the Aggies to suffer another heartbreak in Fayetteville.