The Aggies, who trailed by two entering the final of four 10-minute periods, quickly fell behind by eight before mounting a late comeback. A&M got within four, at 53-49, with two and a half minutes to play before the Swiss scored nine straight points to put the game out of reach.
“I thought we played hard and we competed, but we just missed scoring opportunities and had too many turnovers,” head coach Billy Kennedy said. “Some of that has to do with the team we're playing and the fact that it was our first game. You have to give the Swiss a lot of credit, they are more further advanced than us in a lot of ways—maturity-wise, physicality and just knowing their system.”
The Swiss scored the first two buckets of the game before an 11-2 run by the Aggies gave the maroon and white a 5-point advantage late in the first quarter. Switzerland would rally on the strength of long-distance shooting, however, and hold a 20-14 lead after one period.
The second quarter would be A&M's, doubling up the home squad to tie the game heading into halftime. Highlighting the action was junior Elston Turner's conversion of a 3-point play just before the buzzer.
Play continued tight in the third period, as the Aggies tied the score five times before taking the lead on a 3-point play by Daniel Alexander in the waning minutes. Switzerland, however, got a bucket from David Ramseier and a free throw from Jonathan Kazadi to take a 1-point lead into the final 10 minutes.
Khris Middleton added 9 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals, while Daniel Alexander scored 7 points, grabbed 5 boards and blocked a game-high 3 shots.
For the Swiss, Vladimir Buscaglia had a game-high 16 on the night, while Kazadi added 13 and Ramseier poured in 8 with 10 rebounds.
On the night, the Swiss out-rebounded A&M, 45-43, including a 16-12 advantage on the offensive glass. Both teams shot in the neighborhood of 33 percent, with the Swiss draining six treys.
“We played a veteran team who was very physical with us,” Kennedy said. “You could tell we hadn't played in five days. We have a lot of positives to take from this, but we have to get better. We're disappointed we didn't finish the game out.”
Fans will be able to watch video highlights of the game—including an interview with Coach Kennedy—and view a photo gallery a bit later this afternoon on the brand-new aggieathletics.com.
The Aggies and Swiss will face off again in the second of A&M's games on the European Tour on Friday. Tipoff at Saint-Leonard is set for 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. central). Scoring updates will be provided on the official Twitter feed at @AggieMensHoops.