In a hard fought game the Georgia men’s basketball team (16-13, 7-10) lost to Texas A&M (19-11, 8-9) Wednesday 61-60 at a rowdy Stegeman Coliseum.
 
 
The building was not sold out, but that didn’t stop fans from being passionate and loud.The first half started relatively slow, but Texas A&M maintained the lead for almost the entire half.
 
 
Early in the game Nicolas Claxton had a massive rejection sending a roar throughout the crowd. Immediately after, Rayshaun Hammonds followed suit and added a block of his own keeping the energy in the crowd flowing. While the blocks were flashy the team still struggled down low as Texas A&M scored 34 points in the paint.
 
 
The competitive play by the bigs caused Texas A&M Tyler Davis (13 points) and Yante Maten to get chippy late in the 1st half. The discomfort started to show for Georgia as Texas A&M finished the half on a 7-0 run making the score 37-28 at halftime.
 
 
Out of halftime adjustments were made as the team progressively cut the Aggies lead. Teshaun Hightower and Tyree Crump were able to hit a pair of threes to bring tie the game up at 45. Emotions were heavy as a double technical was called on Nicolas Claxton and Texas A&M Tyler Davis making him foul out.
 
 

 
 
“Both teams were playing a physical game to fight to win,” Texas A&M coach Bill Kennedy said.
 
 
The Bulldogs were then able to gain the lead around the six minute mark when Yante Maten was fouled and hit both of his free throws. It wasn’t until the final minute of the game when Georgia was up 60-59 that Teshaun Hightower had a costly turnover. A Texas A&M full court press caused him into a bad decision passing the ball out of Yante Maten’s reach going out of bounds.
 
 
Down 61-60, Georgia made a defensive stop with less than 15 seconds left on the clock pushing the ball down the court. Juwan Parker was passed the ball in the corner, but was trapped. In desperation he heaved up a shot trying to draw the foul, but missed the basket completely as time expired giving Texas A&M the win.
 
 
Up next, Georgia concludes the regular season traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee to take on the Volunteers. The game will be available on SEC Network at 6:00 p.m.