Texas A&M came up just short against Xavier in Thursday night’s NIT Championship Game in Madison Square Garden. Xavier’s Jack Nunge made a hook shot with 3.2 seconds left to put the Musketeers up 73-72, which would be the game’s final score.

Texas A&M then used its final timeout. Buzz Williams and his staff drew up an effective play. Tyrece Radford got a solid look for a potential game-winner. His jumper rimmed out in heartbreaking fashion for the Aggie faithful.

It was a second-half comeback for Xavier. Texas A&M’s largest lead came just before the end of the half, a 40-30 advantage with 12 seconds left in the first period. Xavier got a bucket just before the break to cut it to 40-32.

The Aggies made it a 9-point lead at the 18:33 mark (43-34). The Aggies and Musketeers traded buckets for a few minutes before Xavier went on an 8-0 run to go up 53-52 with 11:28 remaining. From there, it was a back-and-forth battle to the end.

Texas A&M’s Quenton Jackson made a free throw to tie it up 70-70 at the 1:47 mark. Xavier’s Adam Kunkel put his team back up by 1 (71-70) with a free throw with 1:28 left. Kunkel missed a step-back jumper with 45 seconds left. Texas A&M’s Henry Coleman got the defensive rebound. The Aggies called timeout with 39.3 seconds left. Jackson was fouled with 26 seconds left. He made both free throws to put the Aggies up by 1 (72-71).

Jackson led all scorers with 23 points. Colby Jones led Xavier with 21 points while Nunge had a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Texas A&M finishes 2021-22 with a 27-13 record.