Mizzou makes plays late to knock off Texas A&M
By David Wasson
Published:
Shawn Phillips Jr. was in the right place at the right time – twice – in a huge way for Missouri on Wednesday night.
The senior center threw down an alley-oop dunk with 17.9 seconds remaining and then swatted away Rashaun Agee’s game-winning shot attempt at the buzzer to preserve an 86-85 Mizzou victory over Texas A&M in College Station.
The victory – which snapped the Tigers’ 5-game losing streak to the Aggies – lifted Missouri to 17-7 overall and 7-4 in the SEC, the same overall and conference record Texas A&M fell to with the loss.
Phillips, who finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds, snared a high pass from Mark Mitchell and threw it down to give Missouri a 1-point lead, which was also the eighth lead change in the final 5 minutes.
Texas A&M had 2 chances to win it on its closing possession, first when Rylan Griffen missed a 3-pointer. But Zach Clemence hauled down an offensive rebound for the Aggies, who promptly called time out to set up the final play. Agee took the inbounds pass and drove right and then spun left toward the basket, only to find the 7-foot Phillips blocking both his path to the basket and Agee’s final shot attempt with his right hand to preserve the win.
Mizzou, a team flirting with the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, hosts Texas on Saturday.
Texas A&M travels to Vanderbilt.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
