Texas closes strong, slips past Texas A&M to split season series

Tramon Mark hit for 23 points, 17 of them in the second half, as Texas was at its best after halftime and held on for a 76-70 win over Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon in a key Southeastern Conference clash in College Station, Texas.

The Aggies led by a point after a back-and-forth first half before Texas went in front for good just over two minutes after halftime. Texas (18-11, 9-7 SEC) led by as many as 11 points and was up 63-56 when Mark poured in a contested 3-pointer with the shot clock running down with 4:16 left.

Two free throws by Mark with 2:47 remaining increased the Longhorns' lead to nine points, their largest of the game at that time. Texas maintained its lead over their longtime rival, split the season series with the Aggies and ended a two-game losing streak.

Jordan Pope added 17 points for the Longhorns, while Matas Vokietaitis had 14 and Dailyn Swain racked up 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Rashaun Agee led A&M (19-10, 9-7) with 22 points. Marcus Hill added 17 and Pop Issacs scored 14 for the Aggies, who went more than five minutes without a field goal in the game's stretch run and shot just 38.3% from the floor for the game.

Both Texas A&M and Texas are considered strong at-large picks for the NCAA Tournament, but the Longhorns' win on Saturday boosted their resume with two regular-season games left.

Texas built a 10-3 lead over the opening minutes while holding the Aggies without a field goal for the first 4:39 of the game. Agee ended that swoon for A&M, canning a 3-pointer while up against the expiring shot clock to bring the home team within four points.

The Longhorns stretched the margin to 16-8 after a steal and three-point play by Chendall Weaver at the 13:05 mark. A&M then roared in front for the first time via an 11-0 run capped by a pair of free throws by Ruben Dominguez for a 24-20 lead with 5:43 left until halftime.

Vokietaitis' tip-in with 3:13 to play pushed Texas back in front at 29-28. Agee countered with a banked hook shot with 50 seconds left to give the Aggies a 30-29 advantage at the end of a ragged first half for both teams.

Agee led all scorers with 14 points before halftime, while Swain paced Texas with 11 points.