COLLEGE STATION ? It was almost an upset as the Tarleton Texans pulled within five from defeating Division I's No. 14 Texas A&M Aggies, but the home team prevailed in a 71-62 contest.

Tarleton pulled within five with just over a minute and a half left, but a late foul sent the Aggies to the line, and Tarleton couldn't overcome the deficit. The Aggies went to the free throw line 31 times compared to 13 times.

“I think the biggest difference in this game was that we were a little outsized down low,” said Tarleton head coach Lonn Reisman. “Overall, I thought we had our chances. If we score on our next-to-last possession, we turn it into a one-possession game. Then, you never know what might happen.

“You can't ask for anything more to be down with five with a minute and a half left to go in the contest,” Reisman said. “This was a good opportunity for us, and I am thankful Texas A&M gave us a chance to play them this season.”

A full crowd of 8,224 people watched the Texans come close to taking out their fifth straight NCAA Division I opponent.

“They were an explosive team,” said Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon. “I feel fortunate that our defense stepped up the way they did because this team put up 95 against Baylor. Honestly, I was worried. They are a good team.”

The Texans scored first when Jeffrey Henfield hit a three just 20 seconds into the game before Terrence Gamble had a layup just under 19 minutes to put the visitors up by five. Josh Carter had two free throws to cut the lead to three, but Henfield was fouled by Joseph Jones, and the Texans led 7-2 with 18:27 on the clock.

Jones had two free throws to cut the Texan lead to three again, but Avery Patterson hit a jumper for the Texans to push the lead to 9-4. Donald Sloan and Terrence Gamble traded layups to put the Texans ahead, 11-6.

Lamar Wilson hit Patterson on an alley-oop to put the Texans up 13-6, but the Aggies went on a 5-0 run to pull within two. Jones had three free shots and Bryan Davis a layup during the run.

With 12:39 on the clock, Dan Eichel had a three-point play the old-fashioned way to give the Texans a 16-11 advantage before Derrick Roland had two free throws. Two Jones' free throws at 9:31 cut the lead to one before Davis slammed the ball home to give the Aggies their first lead of the game, 17-16.

Rowland added two free throws at 7:44 to increase the lead to three before Eichel did the same at 4:46 to cut the lead to one, 19-18. DeAndre Jordan had a bucket on the next Aggie possession to increase the lead, but Eichel once again cut the advantage to one with two free throws at the 4:18-mark.

Davis and Wilson traded a layup and a jumper to make the lead 23-22 with 3:10 remaining in the first half. The Aggies would then use an 8-0 run in the remaining moments. Carter had a jumper, and after being fouled, connected on the free shot. Davis added a layup with 45 seconds left in the period before Chinemelu Elonu gave the game its halftime score with two free throws. TAMU led 31-22.

Gamble got the Texans on the board first in the second half with a turnaround hook with his right hand to cut the lead to seven. Dominique Kirk had a three from the top of the key on the Aggies' next possession, but Henfield drove the lane on the opposite end to make it 34-26 with just under 18 minutes left in the contest.

With 16:46 on the clock, Henfield sank two charity shots to cut the lead to six, but Kirk steal and fastbreak dunk made it 36-28 Texans. Patterson connected on his first three-point shot at 15:50 to cut the lead to five before Jones had a layup and two free throws to increase the Aggies' lead to nine, 40-31.

At the 14:07-mark, Tarleton's Wilson hit a three to cut the lead to six prior to a Kirk three that put the score at 43-34. Patterson's jumper with 13:13 remaining in the contest cutt he lead to seven before a Henfield three from the left elbow cut the lead to four, 43-39, with 12:32 on the clock.

The Aggies then used a 16-5 run to take a 13-point lead. Eric Williams had a three for the Texans at the 10:42-mark and Gamble a layup with eight minutes on the clock to score for the Texans. Scoring for the Aggies was Roland with a layup, Carter with a jumper and two threes and Jordan with three buckets.

A Wilson layup with 6:40 on the clock cut the lead to 13 before Henfield hit two charity shots to cut the score to 59-48. Elonu had a layup with 5:10 before TAMU's Davis did the same to stretch the lead to 15. Gamble then had a three-point play the hard way to make it 63-51. Williams got a putback and a free throw with 4:05 on the clock to pull the Texans within nine, 63-54. Henfield then hit a layup at 3:22 to make it 63-56. Jones had a layup and two free throw to stretch the lead to 11, but Patterson had a three for Tarleton with 120 seconds remaining to cut the lead to eight, 67-59.

Patterson repeated his effort on the return trip down the floor, this time the basket at 1:35 cut the lead to five. Four seconds later, the Texans were called on a foul when stealing the ball in the full-court press, and Roland put in two free shots to make it a seven-point game. Williams was called for an intentional foul with 62 seconds left on the clock, and Davis hit both free shots to increase the lead to nine.

The Texans had one more shot, but Gamble missed a bank shot from the left corner, and the Texans fell 71-62 to the No. 14 team in Division I.

Henfield led the team with 16 points while Patterson had 15 and Gamble had 11. Williams' five rebounds topped the Texans Monday as Tarleton tied the Aggies with 32 rebounds apiece.

Tarleton averaged .429 from the floor (21-49), .350 from the arc (7-20) and 100 percent from the charity stripe (13-13).

The Aggies were led by Jones with 17 points while Carter (13), Davis (12) and Roland (10) also scored in double digits.

Texas A&M averaged .415 from the field (22-53), .250 from the three-point arc (4-16) and .742 from the free throw line (.615).

“This was a good experience for us,” Reisman said. “Now we go back and work on our weaknesses. We have to get better and get ready to start our real season where everything counts.”

Tarleton will open the 2007-08 season at home in the Texan Tip-Off Classic when they host Palm Beach Atlantic Friday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m.