ANAHEIM, Calif. — One could almost hear a sigh drifting out of the Marriott Center.

BYU’s charge from behind wasn’t enough as Texas A&M claimed a 67-62 win at the Honda Center in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 20, 2008.

The Cougars (27-8) made the Aggies (25-10) earn it, but in the end, they just couldn’t buck whatever it is that’s kept them tethered to the bottom rung of the NCAA Tournament for 15 years. Even after a remarkable 27-8 run, postseason success was out of BYU’s reach once again.

Though this season’s lost was a near mirror of last year, which also ended on a nail-biting loss in the first round, BYU coach Dave Rose said he didn’t want his players to be any less proud of themselves.

“To win a championship is quite an accomplishment,” he said. “And so to separate one season from the next, when you win a championship and you have an opportunity to have your players wear a ring around for the rest of their life that says they’re champions. To hang a banner in your arena, that says they’re champions. That’s a special thing.”

BYU just couldn’t find an answer for the Aggies’ Josh Carter, who led his team with 26 points, 18 off 3-pointers.

Carter had struggled recently with streaky shooting, but his timely accuracy on Thursday was enough to spread the already undersized BYU defense too thin.

“I felt great,” Carter said. “My teammates kept telling me all week to just keep shooting and it would begin to fall for you, and it was great to be able to get off to a great start.”

The Cougars were haunted by their own streaky shooting last week in the Mountain West Conference Tournament, and Thursday night was no different.

Though they had their bright spots, they finished each half having hit 12 of 27 shots. Jonathan Tavernari led the team with 15 points, and Lee Cummard added 14.

Though disappointed, Cummard stayed optimistic about the team’s potential next year.

“We’re going to have to do a better job of defending the shot,” Cummard said. “We got out-rebounded by 12. That’s not going to get it done. And shooting 44 percent is not going to get it done. So back to the drawing board.”

Considering BYU has some of the sharpest shooters in college basketball, the Cougars’ struggles at the start were almost comical. They missed their first eight shots, going scoreless for six minutes until Cummard had a putback slam off a Chris Miles miss. Until Chris Collinsworth hit a baseline jumper 17 minutes in, the Cougars hadn’t sunk a single shot from more than two feet out.

The Aggies, meanwhile, went to work. Better said, the Aggies’ Carter went to work, hitting three 3-pointers in the first five minutes to put Texas A&M up, 11-0. He finished the half with 17 points, going 5-for-7 from behind the arc.

“You know they’re really big bodies, and they use their physicality to their advantage, and they’re hard to guard,” BYU center Trent Plaisted said. “You know, they had that cross-screen going and it’s hard to keep good position on them when they get that cross-screen.”

As in their games against Utah earlier in the season, the Cougars had to rely on defensive stops and penetration to keep up. They outscored the Aggies 12-4 in points off turnovers, and, bite-by-bite, BYU chewed through the lead, finally tying it up at 26 off a Tavernari 3-pointer.

Two possessions later, BYU’s Jimmer Fredette got the ball up top and, after faking a 3-pointer, sent up a real one to put BYU on top 29-26.

Carter followed that with his fifth 3-pointer of the half to keep it even, 39-39, at the break.

After all was said and done, BYU finished chapter one having mustered 44 percent shooting, led by Cummard’s nine points.

Both squads picked up where they left coming out of the locker room. Texas A&M’s Joseph Jones brought the scattered Aggie fans to their feet with a one-handed slam to go up 33-30, then Plaisted followed with a three-point play to tie it up again.

Moments later, Carter smoked in another shot from behind the arc, with Tavernari’s hand in his face. But Tavernari answered 10 seconds later.

At this point, the teams were neck-and-neck in an offensive footrace, trading leads six times. Plaisted got an open look and a big dunk off a smooth feed from Colinsworth to put the Cougars up, 48-47. But the best BYU could manage was to hang on to the Aggies’ coattails.

The Cougars didn’t have any answers for Texas A&M’s big men, getting outrebounded 22-11 in the second half.

With a minute remaining, Fredette sunk a 3-pointer to bring it close, 63-60, and a glimmer of hope reemerged.

But on the Aggies’ next possession, Dominique Kirk dashed those hopes, with a three to give Texas A&M some breathing room. After a few frantic tosses from downtown, the Cougars season was over.