Graduate guard Tramon Mark made the game-winning layup with 3.7 seconds remaining, giving Texas (14-6, 3-4 SEC) a thrilling 70-69 victory over No. 13/13 Texas A&M (15-5, 4-3 SEC) in the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown at Moody Center on Saturday.
The Longhorns made a remarkable comeback, overcoming a 22-point deficit with 17:07 left in the second half, matching the program’s largest comeback since the 1998-99 season.
Mark contributed 11 points (4-8 FG, 2-4 three-pointers, 1-1 FT), two assists, two rebounds, and one block in 24 minutes.
Freshman guard Tre Johnson led the team with a career-high 30 points (8-18 FG, 4-10 three-pointers, 10-10 FT), four assists, and two blocked shots in 37 minutes.
Texas secured the win despite missing two key players, Arthur Kaluma (left knee) and Chendall Weaver (left groin), due to injury.
The comeback tied a record set during the 2012-13 season, when Texas rallied from a 22-point deficit against Oklahoma to win 92-86 in overtime on Feb. 27, 2013.
Texas A&M started strong, taking a 7-2 lead after a three-point play by Manny Obaseki at the 15:33 mark.
Texas closed the gap to 17-13 with a three-pointer from Jordan Pope at 10:35, but the Aggies went on a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 26-13 by 9:12.
Texas A&M’s lead grew to 41-20 after a three-pointer by Zhuric Phelps with 2:45 remaining, and they went into halftime leading 43-25. The Aggies made 8-of-15 three-pointers in the first half.
The Aggies’ biggest lead came at 51-29 with 17:07 remaining, but Texas mounted a 13-1 run to cut the deficit to 56-50 by 9:16.
Texas A&M responded with an 8-0 run, pushing the lead to 64-50 with 6:43 left. Texas then went on a 10-0 run, pulling within 64-60 with 3:48 remaining.
Texas A&M went up 69-63 after a put-back by Andersson Garcia at 1:46, but Texas responded with a quick rally.
Mark made a layup to make it 69-65, and after a defensive stop, Johnson hit a three-pointer to make it 69-68 with 46 seconds left. Julian Larry then blocked a layup by Taylor IV, and Kadin Shedrick grabbed the rebound to set up the final possession.
On Texas’ last possession, Larry found Mark open at the top of the key. Mark dribbled toward the basket and made a left-handed layup, giving Texas its first lead of the game. Texas A&M’s last-second three-pointer from Taylor IV missed, securing the victory for Texas.
Texas will next play at No. 16/16 Ole Miss on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m.
