Texas A&M Tops USC, 62-52

COLUMBIA, S.C. – A season-best performance from junior post Michael Carrera would not be enough for Carolina (13-13, 4-10 SEC) Saturday afternoon, as it was unable to overcome 10 3s made against them in a 62-52 loss to Texas A&M (19-7, 10-4). The Aggies built a 13-point halftime lead and held off an early second-half comeback attempt to earn the win. Danuel House led all scorers with 25 on the day. The Gamecocks fell victim to a hot-shooting first half from deep that earned them a win at Georgia just four days earlier, with the Aggies hitting 8-of-14 3-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes. Five would come from House, who accounted for 17 of the team’s 34 points in the first half. Texas A&M opened the first six minutes with a 12-2 run, with Carolina connecting on just one of its first 11 shots from the floor. It would close the gap thanks to a 7-0 run over the next two minutes of play, but the Aggies would hold the lead throughout the first half. Michael Carrera led the team with nine points in the frame, while Laimonas Chatkevicius added seven rebounds, but the Aggies hit their final three shots before the buzzer to carry a 34-21 lead to the break. Carrera would match his season high in scoring (12 points) just over two minutes into the second half, completing a three-point play to halt a four-minute scoreless stretch that had spanned the halftime break. Neither side would find much success offensively for the final 20 minutes, with the two teams combining to hit just 14-of 52 attempts from the field. Much of the scoring in the second half would be earned at the foul line, with Texas A&M making 12 and Carolina 13. Sindarius Thornwell gave the team an early shot in the arm after missing all but two minutes of the first half with foul trouble. He hit three of the team’s four 3-pointers in the second half, and his third drew Carolina within five points, 47-42, with 5:27 still to play. Another 3 from House put the Aggies back in control right after Thornwell’s make, and they would lead comfortably for the home stretch. Free throws would aid their lead, as they made 9-of-10 from the charity stripe in the final minute to pull to its final margin of 62-52. After Thornwell made his 3 to make it a five-point game, the team went a combined 0-of-8 from the field before hitting on its final two shots.