It was unseasonably cold in College Station Friday night, but over 10,000 Aggie fans turned out to rally behind the A&M Men’s basketball team for their first ranked matchup against No. 8 Gonzaga.

The A&M starting lineup consisted of  Andre Gordon, Jonathan Aku, Jay Jay Chandler, Savion Flagg, and Wendell Mitchell. The starting five looked lively trading baskets with Gonzaga and got the crowd going with a 14-10 advantage at the 11:10 mark limiting the Bulldogs to 25 percent (4-of-16) from the field. But as quickly as the weather changes in Texas, so can the shots. The Aggies went cold and shot 0-10 from the field in a seven-minute dry spell. Gonzaga made the most of their time on the hardwood and went on a 29-5 point run to end the first half with a 40-19 lead. The Aggies returned from the locker room and opened the half on a 6-2 run behind senior guard Wendell Mitchell who was the Aggies top scorer racking up 14 points for the night with 10 of those in the second half. Gonzaga’s senior guard Ryan Woolridge shot 7-10 for 16 points, 6 rebounds and a pair of steals to help maintain the lead for the Bulldogs. Although the Aggies recorded a season-high 9 steals and shot a season-high 75 percent from the free-throw line, they only shot 30 percent (17 of 56) from the floor, compared to Gonzaga’s 49 percent (31 of 63). The combination of a well-executed offense on Gonzaga’s part and defensive missteps on Texas A&M’s part led to an Aggie loss of 79-49. Despite the disappointing loss, the Aggies look forward to Wednesday night when they host the Troy Trojans coached by Scott Cross, the first college player Buzz Williams ever signed as a college coach.