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As Yogi Berra would aptly, if redundantly, describe it: “It’s déjà vu all over again.�

Such was Missouri men’s basketball’s sixth consecutive loss, which came on a repugnant night of hoops and at the hands of Texas A&M.

The Aggies made only 29 percent of their shots, but that was enough to sink a Mizzou team that is adrift in a gnarly stretch of Southeastern Conference play. The Tigers lost 63-57 in College Station — and in a pattern that has continued to underscore their string of defeats.

MU’s first half was, in heteronym, offensively offensive. Two lengthy scoring droughts threatened the visitors’ chances early on, though they were kept within a respectable margin at halftime thanks to the hosts’ own struggles, trailing 30-25.

The Tigers even took the lead in the second half, doing so as late as the 12:18 mark of the period. Another scoring lull punished Mizzou, but it was still able to claw back within a point with eight minutes to go.

That’s the pivotal stage of the game that has presented such an insurmountable hurdle to the Tigers, who can seemingly recover from any early deficit — this game, it was a 12-point A&M lead in the first half — but continue to crumble in crunch time.

Sure enough, after a 3 and pair of free throws from point guard Nick Honor brought Mizzou within a point, the collapse drew nigh. The Aggies recycled an offensive rebound into an open 3, and MU promptly turned the ball over in response.

Texas A&M’s own offensive challenges presented other opportunities later in the game when Mizzou came within a possession around the six-minute mark following another Honor 3, and again following a composed Tamar Bates layup with three minutes and change to play.

All of that to set up the recurring late-game nightmares.

“I was quite curious about the part where we were able to get some looks but not execute,� MU coach Dennis Gates said. “We got great shots. I’m not worried about that. But we wasn’t able to execute how I wanted to in those situations.�

That theme permeated even before the closing minutes of the loss.

“There are some plays that I wish we could get back and somehow make those open shots that we were right there, able to take,� Gates said. “But they didn’t fall for us.�

Missouri shot 38.9 percent from the field and 27.6 percent from 3-point range. Synergy estimated that 17 of the Tigers’ 24 catch-and-shoot jumpers were open — only one type of quality shot, depending on the shooter, but an indicator that the chances were there amid the rock fight.

The first half was particularly trying for MU’s offense. A series of paint touches and well-timed Bates 3 established a 13-4 lead over the Aggies within the first six minutes of the game. But the Tigers stayed put at 13 points for the next 16 minutes as Texas A&M recovered and eventually took a 15-13 lead.

Mizzou’s Sean East II quickly ended the drought and tied the game at 15-all, only for another lull to set in. By the time Missouri scored again, with 2:17 left in the first half, the Aggies had assembled a 23-2 run over the course of roughly 12 minutes.

“What's the record for longest stretch of scoring just two points?� SEC Network analyst Jimmy Dykes asked on the TV broadcast, to which play-by-play commentator Dave Neal responded, “It might be right now.�

On the defensive end of the floor, MU rolled out a 1-3-1 zone that seemed to test Texas A&M’s ball movement and shot-making while keeping the Aggies’ offensive rebounding at least mildly in check. The new defensive scheme worked but added to the sting of the offense’s struggles.

“I thought our guys did a tremendous job preparing,� Gates said. “Our coaching staff did a tremendous job. Excellent, excellent game plan. We held a team to 28 percent from the 2, 22% from the 3. I thought our guys executed everything.�

“The other part of it is, we held a team to six total field goals in the first half,� he said later in his press conference. “That’s a tremendous, tremendous thing. … We should have been up 10, 15 points, holding a team to that many field goals in that first half.�

But that wasn’t to be.

In addition to the flat-out missed shots, turnovers hampered the MU offense from building any sustained momentum. The 15 giveaways — more than Missouri’s 14 assists, a negative ratio that was a glaring red flag to Gates — directly led to 21 points for Texas A&M. In the reverse dynamic, Mizzou scored just five points from nine A&M turnovers.

Foul trouble also plagued the Tigers, who had five players finish the game on four fouls. The Aggies shot 37 free throws to MU’s 10, though the unbalanced degree to which opponents get to the line more often than the Tigers is nothing new at this point in the season. The fouls — 26 on Missouri, 16 on Texas A&M — outnumbered the made shots — 21 for Mizzou, 15 for the Aggies — in an indicator of the game’s pace and constant stoppages.

In addition to rolling out the zone, Gates also tweaked his starting lineup. Out went forward Noah Carter — one of three players Gates tabbed “anchors� of his leading five at the start of the season — and center Connor Vanover and in came forward Jesus Carralero Martin and center Jordan Butler, with the latter making his first collegiate start.

“Jordan did a great job last game and I wanted to reward him for that,� Gates said. “Obviously, he had some great minutes tonight. The other thing is challenging: I wanted to challenge our guys, specifically Noah Carter. In that situation, he had zero rebounds last game with 20-plus minutes of play. … Jesus as well, he’s done a great job and I thought those guys did tremendous, tremendous thing throughout our practices but also they showed a spark that I thought allowed us to have a matchup advantage.�

Winless in six SEC games, Mizzou will get a rematch with South Carolina, which beat the Tigers in overtime on Jan. 13. The Gamecocks are rolling after toppling No. 6 Kentucky on Tuesday for a court-storming upset.