Longhorns, Aggies hoop it up for Hurricane Harvey victims
Following a particularly hard foul early in a TexasTexas A&M basketball reunion on Wednesday night, a concerned fan yelled out, “This is an exhibition — no need to hurt anybody.”
He was right, there was no need to hurt anybody, but it was clear both the Aggies and Longhorns intended to win this one in Rice’s Tudor Fieldhouse, even if it only counted for bragging rights.
UT built an early double-digit lead and held on for dear life in a 73-69 victory over A&M in a glorified scrimmage to benefit Hurricane Harvey victims before 2,048 fans.
“We approached this game as if it was a real game,” UT freshman forward Mo Bamba said. “As if it was in the middle of the season.” Wanted to help out
A&M coach Billy Kennedy had said both he and UT coach Shaka Smart didn’t believe their teams were ready for this early an exhibition against quality competition, but they wanted to help out where they could concerning Harvey. The Longhorns looked more ready than the Aggies in the first half (UT led 40-27 at the break) and for much of the game.
“It was ugly basketball from a coach’s perspective, but we’re going to get so much more positive out of it by teaching and learning from our mistakes,” Kennedy said.
Andrew Jones led the Longhorns with 18 points, while Tonny Trocha-Morelos scored 19 points for the Aggies. UT shot 51.1 percent (24-47) from the floor, while the Aggies shot much worse (20 of 66 for 30.3 percent).
“One, we wanted to beat A&M,” Bamba said. “Two, we wanted to go against Robert Williams.” Big men post up
Bamba finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Williams had 11 points and 15 rebounds in the showdown of the talented big men.
The two coaches have discussed renewing the old Big 12 and Southwest Conference rivalry annually at either a neutral site or ideally on campus, but for now it’s just talk. A&M and UT played in the Bahamas in 2015 around Thanksgiving, so this was the first time they had played on Texas soil since the Aggies left the Big 12 for the SEC in the summer of 2012.
Ticket sales were better than anticipated considering the exhibition’s short notice and the contest conflicting with Game 2 of the World Series between the Astros and Dodgers in Los Angeles.
The Aggies next face Tarleton State on Nov. 3 at home in an exhibition, while the Longhorns open their season at home against Northwestern State on Nov. 10.
Both A&M and UT are trying to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last year.