Rutgers Basketball fell in the final minutes to No. 20 Texas A&M in each team's third and final matchup in the Players Era Festival. The Scarlet Knights took a lead midway through the second half, but the Aggies battled back and took their own lead in the final minutes after each team made respective runs to keep it close in the Festival's fifth-place game.
Rutgers' trio of Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, and Jeremiah Williams led the Scarlet Knights especially in the second half, as the three all scored in double-figures.
Bailey tied with Wade Taylor IV with a game-high 24 points, Harper struggled from the floor but still finished with 18 points, while Williams scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half in an efficient 7-for-8 shooting clip from the floor.
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The Scarlet Knights and Aggies battled out of the gate, with the lead changing four times in the opening half. Texas A&M ripped off a big 10-0 run to take a lead, but Rutgers continued to battle back as neither team could gain an edge struggling to shoot from the floor.
The Aggies and Scarlet Knights combined to shoot 2-for-20 from beyond the arc, with both threes coming from Rutgers by PJ Hayes and Bailey. The Aggies eventually made a late push and took a 40-34 lead.
Zhuric Phelps opened the second half with a layup for the Aggies, but the Scarlet Knights completely blitzed Texas A&M over the next five minutes. Led by Harper and Jeremiah Williams, Rutgers ripped off an 11-0 run to storm ahead with the lead, eventually growing to nine points midway through.
Texas A&M continued to battle back however, and eventually took the lead with under four minutes to play, setting up a back-and-forth final minutes.
Rutgers had its chances to take the lead but could not execute down the stretch, as Zach Martini could not handle a kick-out pass from Bailey to tie the game with under a minute to play, and Harper's contested layup attempt with under 30 seconds was blocked.
The Aggies brought a physical game plan and did plenty of work at the rim, scoring 42 points in the paint and shooting 40 free throws, converting 30 of them.
Rutgers was whistled for 29 fouls and both centers Lathan Sommerville and Emmanuel Ogbole fouled out in the final five minutes of the game. The Scarlet Knights on the other hand went 15-for-17 from the line, continuing their strong start from the charity stripe.
RHOOPS PLAY OF THE DAY
Ace Bailey nails the corner three off the inbound in the second half.
UP NEXT?
The Scarlet Knights get a week off after returning from Las Vegas, but they continue their road trip with a matchup against Ohio State in Columbus on December 7th.
The game will tip off at noon EST and will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1.
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