No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies Men's Basketball Falls 96-89 to No. 19 Florida Atlantic Owls in ESPN Events Invitational

The No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball fell to 5-1 after the loss to the No. 19 Florida Atlantic Owls at the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday in Kissimmee.

The No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball fell to 5-1 after the 96-89 loss to the No. 19 Florida Atlantic Owls at the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday in Kissimmee at State Farm Field House.

The Aggies took their undefeated record to Kissimmee on Thursday and beat Penn State 89-77 in Game 1, but FAU was just too much for A&M on Friday. The Aggies were without Henry Coleman III for the final portion of the first half and all of the second half due to injury, and the A&M offense couldn't keep up with the Owls.

The Aggies were led by guard Wade Taylor's 35 points in the losing effort, who made five of his eight 3-pointers on the day. Hayden Hefner chipped in 14 and Manny Obaseki dropped 13, while Andersson Garcia pulled down 13 boards.

Texas A&M vs. Florida Atlantic at the ESPN Events Invitational / USA TODAY

FAU guard Johnell Davis scored 26 and Alijah Martin added 25 as the Owls had two players score 20-plus, and all five starters scored at least 10. Jalen Gaffney dropped in 12, while Brandon Weatherspoon and Vladislav Goldin both scored 10. Bryan Greenlee had 12 off the bench. 

The Aggies were able to stay within striking distance of FAU in the first half, trailing by just two at 46-44 at the break. But without Coleman available, the Owls began the second half with a 16-3 run before A&M found its offensive groove again.

The Owls reached their largest lead of 18 with a 68-50 score by virtue of a 3-pointer by Brandon Weatherspoon at the 12:21 mark. The Aggies were able to peck away slowly and got to within five at 78-73 with 5:23 left after two Wade Taylor free throws.

But that's as close as A&M could get as FAU pulled away late. 

A&M will match up with the loser of Iowa State and Virginia Tech on Sunday for the third-place game.

No. 12 Aggies Pummel Penn State In ESPN Events Invitational