TAMPA | Auburn dug itself a hole that it couldn’t fight out of on Saturday in Amalie Arena, losing to No. 8 seed Texas A&M, 67-62, in the quarterfinals of the 2022 SEC Tournament.

After trailing by as many as 20 in the second half, the No. 1 seed Tigers (27-5) cut it to five with 1:56 to go as Wendell Green heated up, making two straight threes. A dunk by Quenton Jackson gave A&M a seven-point lead. Jabari Smith made a three to make the deficit four, but two free throws by Jackson and an offensive foul on Green put an end to any chance for a victory.

In the first half, the Tigers shot 6-of-37 (16.2 percent), including 3-of-20 (15 percent) from the floor, going more than seven minutes without a field goal. The Aggies finished the first half on a 24-9 run to build the lead to 16 points going into the locker room.

"We just have to hit open shots," Green said. "They were leaving us wide-open in the first half."

Every time the Tigers got a little momentum, and the large Auburn contingent tried to make noise, the Aggies had an answer. Walker Kessler made a free throw to cut it to 15 with 17:54 to play, but Radford responded with a three-pointer. The Auburn center cut it to 15 again with a dunk before Radford went back to work, hitting a three and a jumper to make the Auburn deficit at 20.

"Give A&M credit," Bruce Pearl said. "They played inspired. We got beat by a really good team."

Smith led the Tigers with 17 points and nine rebounds while Green added 15. Kessler finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.

The Tigers find out Sunday where and when it will play in the NCAA Tournament.