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Thursday, March 31
New York, N.Y.
6:00 PM

Texas A&M

72
vs
73

Xavier

Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics

Aggies Drop Heartbreaker in NIT Championship Game, 73-72

Mar 31, 2022 | Men's Basketball

NEW YORK (AP)--If this was the last NIT championship game at Madison Square Garden, it certainly was a thriller.

Especially for Xavier.

Jack Nunge made the go-ahead basket with 3.1 seconds left and the Musketeers won their first NIT crown in 64 years Thursday night, rallying for a 73-72 victory over Texas A&M.

Colby Jones scored 21 points for Xavier (23-13) and was selected the tournament's most outstanding player. Dwon Odom added 18, and Nunge had 15 points and 11 rebounds to help the Musketeers erase an eight-point halftime deficit under interim coach Jonas Hayes.

"I can't say enough about our guys," Hayes said. "That's what Xavier basketball is."

It was the final National Invitation Tournament title game at Madison Square Garden for at least a few years — breaking a college basketball tradition that dates to 1938.

MSG won't host the semifinals and finals anymore in 2023 and 2024, the NIT announced this week, saying a bid process has begun to find new sites for those years. Nothing has been decided about 2025 and beyond.

"Madison Square Garden is a special court," Nunge said. "Everybody knows the feel when you're playing out there and you just want to give it your all — all the history that's there. I'm just grateful to be part of this team and have our names in the record books."

Quenton Jackson scored 23 points for the Aggies (27-13), left out of the NCAA Tournament despite reaching the SEC final, where they lost to Tennessee. It was a surprising snub by the selection committee that drew criticism from Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams and others.

After getting over their disappointment, the Aggies nearly took the consolation prize.

"It's been great. One of the better experiences I've had playing basketball," Jackson said. "We've been through a lot this year. A lot of ups, a lot of downs, but through it all I think we've all learned just how to persevere and remain resilient through everything."

In a championship game with 17 lead changes, Adam Kunkel made one of two free throws to give second-seeded Xavier a 71-70 advantage with 1:28 left.

Jackson was fouled by Odom on a drive and sank both free throws to put the top-seeded Aggies in front with 27 seconds remaining.

Texas A&M blocked a shot out of bounds on the other end, and Xavier inbounded from the baseline. Jones found Nunge inside and he wheeled into the lane and banked in a one-handed turnaround shot that put Xavier ahead 73-72.

"Ever since Jonas has taken over as head coach, we haven't really had any out-of-bounds plays," Nunge said. "I tried to call — look at the bench and call a simple one everybody knows, and Colby looked at me and said he was going to throw me the ball, and I was fortunate enough to knock down the shot."

After a timeout by the Aggies, they still had a chance to win. Tyrece Radford dribbled up the left side and tossed up a runner from the 3-point line that rimmed out.

"Unbelievable game," said Hayes, his NIT championship T-shirt soaked. "I thought our guys met the challenge. I'm fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to lead these guys for a couple weeks, and these guys deserve the amount of success they have."

Nunge grabbed the rebound at the buzzer to seal Xavier's second NIT championship. The other one came in 1958.

After a disappointing flop in the Big East this season, the Musketeers took off in the NIT despite losing senior guard Paul Scruggs to a torn knee ligament.

"What has happened in their program over the last two weeks is historical and any AD that has a job opening should hire the undefeated head coach at Xavier, Coach Hayes," Williams said.

Hayes took over when head coach Travis Steele was fired following Xavier's victory over Cleveland State in the first round of the NIT.

Sean Miller, the former Arizona coach, was hired for his second stint at Xavier and will now take charge of the program. A smiling Miller, who also coached the Musketeers from 2004-09, watched from the MSG stands Thursday night.

Radford finished with 15 points and Hassan Diarra, a New York City native, added 12 for the Aggies.

Texas A&M had a 10-point lead, its largest of the night, late in the first half.

Jackson and Diarra combined for 22 points to give the Aggies a 40-32 edge at the break. Texas A&M shot 14 for 25 from the field.

Diarra came off the bench to spark a 18-10 surge over the final six minutes of the first half. His layup evened it 26-all and he capped a 7-0 spurt with a 3-pointer that extended the Aggies' lead to 31-26.

Jackson then took advantage of a Xavier turnover and ignited another 7-0 run with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws before Radford tipped in Jackson's miss to make it 40-30.


 
National Invitation Tournament – Championship
Madison Square Garden (New York, New York)
Thursday, March 31, 2022 | 6 p.m. CT tipoff
 

ABOUT THE GAME
  • The Texas A&M men's basketball dropped a back-and-forth 73-72 decision to Xavier in the Championship game of the National Invitational Tournament on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
  • In a game that featured 17 lead changes, the Aggies had a potential game-winning jump shot from Tyrece Radford rattle out as time expired.
  • A pair of Aggies were named to the NIT All-Tournament Team: Quenton Jackson and Tyrece Radford.
 
RECORDS AND SERIES NOTES
  • The Aggies ended the season with a 27-13 record, which marked a 19-victory improvement from 2020-21 (8-10). It is the largest season-to-season win total improvement in program history, bettering the 14-win improvement from 2003-04 to 2004-05 in Billy Gillispie's first season at Texas A&M. Gillispie's initial coaching staff included current Aggie head coach Buzz Williams.
  • The 27 wins were one shy of the school record of 28 wins in a season, which was accomplished by the 2015-16 Aggies that were SEC Co-Champions and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
  • The Aggies joined an elite handful of teams that have reached the 40-game plateau in game played in a season tonight. The NCAA record for games played in a season is 41 games, accomplished by UConn's 2011 national championship team and Michigan's national runner-up team in 2018. Texas A&M is the 18th team in NCAA history to reach the 40-game plateau. The Aggies' previous high number of games in a season was 37 by the 2015-16 Aggies.
  • The Aggies fell to 11-8 all-time in the NIT and now trail Xavier 2-0 in the all-time series between the two schools.
 
TEAM NOTES  
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
  • With a game-high 23 points in the final, senior Quenton Jackson raised his season point total to 591 points, which moved him to No. 8 on Texas A&M's all-time single season scoring list.
  • Jackson closed out the season with double figure points in 21 of the Aggies' last 22 games and in 32 of the Aggies' 40 games in 2021-22. It marked the 19th game this season where Jackson led the team in points.
  • Sophomore Henry Coleman III had a team-high nine rebounds, including three offensive boards, marking the 19th time that he led the Aggies in rebounds in a game.
  • The Aggies had a 17-to-8 advantage in bench points, which included a 12-point game from Queens, New York, native Hassan Diarra.