Derrick Roland scored 19 points, as Texas A&M held on for a 66-65 victory over 22nd-ranked Minnesota in the third-place game of the 76 Classic.
Texas A&M Holds On For 66-65 Win Over No. 22 Minnesota
Nathan Walkup added 11 points and six rebounds, while B.J. Holmes scored 10 for the Aggies (5-1), who were coming off a loss to West Virginia. Texas A&M won despite going 0-for-6 from the foul line in the final 53 seconds.
“Earlier in the year we were 19-of-23 from the free throw line,” Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said. “Hopefully the guys will get so mad at themselves for all the misses that it doesn’t become a bigger problem.”
Colton Iverson had 14 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Golden Gophers (4-2), who had lost to Portland on Friday. Paul Carter and Damian Johnson had 13 and 12 points, respectively, in the setback.
“During the game, the team tried to figure out how to make the players stay positive and we were forcing turnovers, but we had trouble finishing, things were falling out of place and we just couldn’t pull it together at the end,” Minnesota coach Tubby Smith said. “We just need to find out what is more effective for our offense.”
In a close game down the stretch, Holmes sank a layup to give A&M a 64-59 lead with 3:17 on the clock.
Both teams missed their next several shots, and Donald Sloan made a free throw with 1:22 on the clock. Moments later, Dash Harris sank 1-of-2 from the line to make it a 66-59 game.
The Aggies then survived a furious Minnesota rally, as Carter countered the free throw with a three-point play. Sloan and Holmes each missed a pair of free throws for Texas A&M, and Al Nolen sank a layup with 26 seconds left.
Carter then went to the line with 21 ticks on the clock, but missed the second after making the first to keep the Gophers behind by a point.
Walkup went to the line for Texas A&M, but he too missed both shots. However, the Aggies came away with the win after Carter missed a jumper with four seconds to go.
Texas A&M built a 38-29 lead at halftime, but Minnesota got back in the game with an eight-point run shortly into the second. Devoe Joseph capped the burst with two free throws to get the Gophers within 40-37.
Minnesota was 18-of-27 from the line, while Texas A&M made just 16- of-32…Sloan ended with nine points for the Aggies, while Joseph scored eight for the Gophers.
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