Columbia, Mo. ? Kalen Grimes snatched the rebound, and the 6-foot-8 sophomore went up for the uncontested dunk that might have put the exclamation point on a Missouri upset.

He didn’t get up quite high enough. The ball clanged hard off the rim and turned into a momentum swing that changed the game and may have saved Texas A&M’s NCAA Tournament hopes as the Aggies (17-6 overall, 7-6 Big 12 Conference) rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit Tuesday to beat Missouri, 54-51.

“It was a real ugly win for us, and that’s what we specialize in,” Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie said.

The Aggies extended their lead to three before Thomas Gardner’s last-second three-point try bounced off the rim for Mizzou.

Dominque Kirk, averaging 6.7 points per game, had just three points before leading the comeback and ended with 11. Acie Law had 15 for Texas A&M.

Gardner had 21 for Missouri (11-13, 4-9), but just two on 1-for-9 shooting in the second half. Jimmy McKinney had 14.

The loss added to Missouri’s misery. The Tigers have lost eight of nine games and are 1-2 under interim coach Melvin Watkins, who took over Feb. 10 after Quin Snyder resigned.