The rivalry was renewed Sunday at Dickie’s Arena as Texas Tech took on longtime foe Texas A&M and the Aggies emerged victorious 72-67.

Here are our findings from the campaign…

Texas Tech has fallen in love with the three-ball, and its reliance on catch-and-shoot opportunities contributed to Sunday’s game’s collapse.

All too often, the Red Raiders had to swing the ball wildly back and forth before ultimately having to settle for looks from deep that weren’t the most favorable. Tech has struggled to establish a rhythm on offense or develop any sort of coherent and easily identifiable scheme to stick to.

The Red Raiders turned the ball over 18 times against the Aggies, which A&M converted into the same number of points.

It often appears to be an offense that depends on the individual moves of the players, but this is not a reliable source of offensive results.

When the Red Raiders were in the midst of their toughest stretch of the first half, it was Kevin Overton’s efforts that kept Tech fighting.

The true sophomore was on fire, hitting two three-pointers in the opening minutes to end an early A&M run.

Overton finished the first half with 14 points, shooting 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 6 from deep while grabbing three rebounds.

While Overton’s hot start faded as the game progressed, his performances could fuel debate as to whether or not he has earned a starting role in this squad.

The Aggies’ two leading scorers took time to get rolling, but the end result was Wade Taylor IV and Zhuric Phelps combining for 31 points in the win.

Taylor, A&M’s only preseason All-SEC selection, arrived late, scoring 11 of his 19 goals in the second half. Most important were Taylor’s five free throws, four of them in the final minute of the game.

After the Red Raiders cut the lead to 60-58 on threes from Darrion Williams and Elijah Hawkins with 3:52 to play, two baskets from Taylor helped push the Aggies’ lead back to six.

Tech fought with a valiant roar, taking A&M to the edge and bringing the lead back to one possession several times in the final minutes of the game.

Chance McMillian finished the game with a game-high 23 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the field and a very efficient 5-for-10 performance from deep.

McMillian hit a tandem of three three-pointers in the final minute to bring the game to three points on two separate occasions, but Tech failed to get over the hump and lost its second game of the season.

With losses to Saint Joseph’s and Texas A&M on the schedule, the Red Raiders’ opportunities to make some noise outside of the conference have essentially been exhausted. Tech will take the rest of the week off from game action and host Oral Roberts on Dec. 16 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock.

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