NASHVILLE — This time, effort wasn’t an issue.
Five days after Chris Beard rightfully challenged his team’s heart and effort, both were readily evident Thursday at Bridgestone Arena.
Ole Miss dove for loose balls, hustled in transition, closed out with force and did all the intangibles required to win basketball games.
Rebounding, however, remained Ole Miss’ Achilles heel to the end. Five days ago, Ole Miss lost to Texas A&M while being out-rebounded, 50-21. On Thursday night in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, the margin wasn’t nearly as egregious, but the Aggies’ performance on the glass sent the Rebels back to Oxford without a win in the Music City.
Texas A&M’s 80-71 win over Ole Miss dropped the Rebels to 20-14 overall. It was the Rebels’ ninth loss in their last 11 games.
“I just thought we ran out of time,” Beard said. “I thought our guys played really hard tonight and well in a lot of ways. Obviously rebounding was a challenge for us all season and our season kind of ended on a note where once again, that was a weakness of our team. …I thought rebounding was the difference in a hard-fought game.”
“We had a gameplan and not following it down the stretch really hurt us,” Ole Miss forward Jaemyn Brakefield said.
Ole Miss could potentially earn an invitation to the NIT on Sunday after the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed. Beard was asked if Ole Miss would accept a bid if one was extended. He said he wasn’t thinking about that yet and declined to give a definitive answer.
Texas A&M improved to 19-13. The Aggies, the definition of an NCAA Tournament bubble team, will face Kentucky at 6 p.m. Friday in the quarterfinal round.
In the end, Thursday’s fate was sealed on the glass. Rebounding deficiencies have hurt Ole Miss all season, spoiling a season that began with 18 wins in the first 21 games. Texas A&M out-rebounded Ole Miss, 48-32. Of those, 21 were on the offensive glass, leading to 21 second-chance points for the Aggies. Ole Miss’ defense was very effective against Texas A&M’s perimeter attack, but the Rebels’ inefficiency around the rim proved deadly yet again. The Aggies won points in the paint by a 36-26 margin.
As was the case throughout the season, that was the game in a nutshell.
Ole Miss trailed by just four at halftime, but the Aggies exerted their will throughout the second half, using a 9-0 run to build what appeared to be a comfortable lead.
Then Ole Miss made a furious rally in the final minutes, pulling to within 61-58 on Matthew Murrell’s 3-pointer with 2:13 left.
That was as close as the Rebels got, as they simply couldn’t do enough to make the Aggies panic down the stretch.
“We couldn’t get the stop and now you have to score the next time down,” Beard said. “Now it becomes a fouling game, a pressing game. You’re hoping for a missed free throw and we just didn’t have any fortune there.”
Brakefield led Ole Miss with 23 points and seven rebounds. Allen Flanigan had 17 points and six rebounds. Matthew Murrell had 14 points in what was likely his final game in an Ole Miss uniform.
Wade Taylor IV led Texas A&M with 20 points. Tyrece Radford added 18, Manny Obaseki had 12 and Andersson Garcia 11.
“When it ends, it stings a little bit,” Beard said. “I do have a lot of positive thoughts in my mind. I was really proud of the team today. We got kicked by Texas A&M a few days ago and we did a lot of soul-searching and had some hard practices. Today was one of those games where we ran out of time.”
