The Texas A&M men's basketball team fell to the No. 4 Houston Cougars, 79-64, in exhibition play on Sunday at the Fertitta Center on the UH campus.

The No. 13 Aggies officially open the 2024-25 season in just over a week with a road matchup against the UCF Golden Knights on Dec. 4 in Orlando, Florida.

Preseason All-SEC pick Wade Taylor IV, a senior from Dallas, led the Aggies with 18 points as he hit 4-of-8 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers and was a perfect 8-of-8 from the line. Fellow senior Manny Obaseki chipped in 14 points, including 11 in the second half and also had four steals. Last season's SEC rebounding champ Andersson Garcia had a team-high six rebounds.

Hallmarks of 2023-24 Texas A&M squad that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament were offensive rebounding and not turning the ball over, but the Aggies allowed the Cougars to pull down 19 offensive rebounds while only grabbing 10 from the offensive glass. The Aggies also suffered 16 turnovers which led to 22 points for the Cougars.

Freshmen Rob Dockery and Chris McDermott came in late to provide a spark in their first collegiate action with Dockery scoring seven points and McDermott scoring four points and pulling down four rebounds, including a team-high three from the offensive glass. Also providing energy and production late was sophomore Jaelyn Lee with a steal and a rebound.

Proceeds from Sunday's exhibition benefit the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance Hurricane Beryl Recovery Fund, which assists those who were affected by the storm. The Greater Houston Disaster Alliance is a partnership between the Greater Houston Community Foundation and the United Way of Greater Houston, both of which are 501I(3) nonprofit organizations. As of Oct. 2, the fund had raised nearly $6 million to assist those in need.