Williams is proud of Aggies’ resiliency
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Texas A&M forward Andersson Garcia gave the Aggies a storybook ending of sorts late Sunday night, but that ending to regulation against Houston was punctuated by an epilogue called overtime.
Garcia’s offbalance 3-pointer from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded tied the game for the ninth-seeded Aggies against top-seeded UH, and the Cougars prevailed in overtime 100-95 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Fedexforum.
Afterward, UH coach Kelvin Sampson took extra time with A&M’S players, shaking their hands and hugging a few of them.
“Texas A&M is a lot better than the first time we played them,” Sampson said, referring to UH’S 70-66 victory on Dec. 16 at Toyota Center. “There’s a reason why they dominated the SEC at the end of the year. Their kids were fighting their hearts out.”
Sunday night’s heartbreak notwithstanding, the Aggies wrapped up an overall successful season at 21-15. A&M won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in six years and for the first time in coach Buzz Williams’ five seasons, having beaten eighthseeded Nebraska in a mild upset, 98-83, on Friday night.
“It shows how resilient we were all season,” A&M guard Wade Taylor IV said of the Aggies wiping out a 13-point deficit with less than four minutes remaining in regulation against UH. “We were in a position a lot this season as far as being counted out and still fighting to get back to the top.
“But I’m so proud of our guys for staying in there, hanging in there.”
A&M shot a whopping 45 free throws but made just 29 for a 64.4 percent rate, well below its 71 percent on the
season. One more make earlier in regulation might have pushed the Aggies into Dallas against Duke in the Sweet 16. Instead, the Cougars marched on to their fifth consecutive Sweet 16, while the Aggies haven't played in one since 2018 under coach Billy Kennedy.
“In any game like this — and I won't watch it for a while — but you make a free throw, (or) I wish we would have gotten a long unclaimed rebound,” said Williams, checking off his regrets list from the cliff-hanging Tournament loss. “There
will always be specifics in a two-possession, overtime game against the No. 1 team in the country to go to the Sweet 16 that I think you'll always wish would have been different.”
The Aggies have seven players listed as seniors in Garcia, Tyrece Radford, Henry Coleman III, Wildens Leveque, Hayden Hefner, Eli Lawrence and Julius Marble, although at least a handful could potentially return depending on eligibility. Marble did not play this season following a suspension by the university for an undisclosed reason.
“Our group was steadfast, whether it was an injury, a suspension, hard schedule, winning streak, losing streak,
on the bubble, not on the bubble,” Williams said in reflecting upon his most successful season at A&M to date. “Regardless of result, the (players) had great belief and ownership in what we did. And in some respects, I think the 45-minute (overtime) game was a microcosm of what you've seen from us, good and bad, throughout the year.
“I just admire our guys so much. We need to do better, and I need to coach better. We need more guys — all the things a coach would say — but I don't want to rush to the next thing. I just have such gratefulness and admiration for how they've handled all of it.”