The South Carolina men's basketball team (10-12, 0-9) fell to the No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies (17-5, 6-3) 76-72 on Saturday night at Colonial Life Arena.

The loss to the Aggies extends South Carolina's historic losing streak in Southeastern Conference play to nine games. 

The game started with South Carolina's first five field goals coming from beyond the arc. The Aggies matched pace, led by senior guard Wade Taylor IV who scored 12 points in the first 10 minutes of the game.  

Offensive inconsistency began for the Gamecocks later in the first half, allowing the Aggies to lead by as many as 13 points in the later stages of the first half. Senior guard Jamarii Thomas weathered the storm, putting up 11 points of his own in the first half.  

The Gamecocks shrunk the Aggies lead to 8 going into halftime as Sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles scored 8 of his 10 first-half points in the final two-and-half minutes.  

Defense was lacking for South Carolina, which allowed the Aggies to shoot 60% from the field and left the Gamecocks trailing 44-36 at the end of the first half.  

The Gamecocks started the second half going on an 11-0 run and cutting the Aggies' lead to 2 points.  

Defense was the story of the second half as South Carolina held Texas A&M to only 29.2% from the field. But untimely turnovers prevented the Gamecocks from gaining any rhythm offensively. The Aggies held on to win the game 76-72 despite the Gamecocks outscoring Texas A&M 36-32 in the second half. 

Sophomore guard Morris Ugusuk proved to be a spark off the bench with 12 points while Murray-Boyles led the scoring for the Gamecocks however with 22. Guards Zachary Davis and Thomas had 12 and 15 points respectively. 

Finishing the game 

The Gamecocks did not allow a field goal for the last four minutes of the game, but two missed free throws from South Carolina and an offensive rebound by Texas A&M senior forward Andersson Garcia with 32 seconds remaining proved to be the finishing touches in the Gamecocks defeat.  

Late game turnovers have been a recurring theme during the Gamecocks losing streak. The Gamecocks have turned the ball over 105 times in its last six games. 

“In some ways it feels like some level of Groundhog Day,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “But again, our guys played with a tremendous amount of energy, played extremely hard, played well enough.”  

Paris said that the Gamecocks need to find a way to come out on top while playing in these closely contested games.   

“Grasping a moment and the gravity of that moment, even four minutes out, could ultimately impact the final outcome,” Paris said.  

Consistency   

The Gamecocks had 12 turnovers this game, its lowest number since having nine against No. 1 Auburn on Jan. 11. In addition, they forced 10 Aggie turnovers. The Aggies excelled, however, in capitalizing off of turnovers outscoring the Gamecocks 19-12 in the category.  

“We’ve been preaching taking care of the ball,” Murray-Boyles said. “So seeing it take effect tonight, seeing the growth, was really promising.” 

The Gamecocks posted 19 assists on 25 made field goals, a step up from their average of 13 assists per game. 

Paris said the South Carolina ball movement made things difficult on the defensive end for the Aggies. 

“Popping the ball around so much, it was hard to catch up,” Paris said. "That was a big part of what led us to getting some of those looks."

Limiting the rebounding margin

The Aggies came into the game as the number one offensive rebounding team in the country, averaging 16.4 rebounds a game on the offensive glass. The Gamecocks held the Aggies to only nine offensive rebounds and had a slight advantage 11-12 in second chance points.   

Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams credited South Carolina for their physicality and quality of offense inside the paint.

“Arguably the most physical game we have participated in, in the paint,” Williams said. "They are dominant in the 0-6 foot range." 

What's next?

The Gamecocks (10-12, 0-9 SEC) go on the road to face the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (15-6, 4-4 SEC) at Rupp Arena on Feb. 8. The game will tip off at noon and be broadcasted on ESPN.