MENS BASKETBALL

Texas A&M 85, Tennessee 69

KRISTIE RIEKEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Tyrece Radford had 27 points and Wade Taylor IV added 25 as Texas A&M never trailed in an 85-69 win over No. 6 Tennessee.

The victory is the third straight and fifth in the last six games for Texas A&M (15-8, 6-4 Southeastern Conference). It’s A&M’s second win this season over a top-10 team after the Aggies outlasted then-No. 6 Kentucky in a 97-92 overtime victory Jan. 13.

The Aggies were up by 20 or more for much of the second half after a big opening half. But Dalton Knecht, who had been on the bench for several minutes after collecting his fourth foul, came in and made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 12 points with less than four minutes to go.

A layup by Taylor started a 6-2 run, capped by an alley-oop dunk by Solomon Washington, to push it to 81-65 with just over two minutes remaining to end the rally attempt.

It’s the second poor offensive showing in four outings for Tennessee (17-6, 7-3), which managed just 59 points in a loss to No. 15 South Carolina on Jan. 30.

Knecht had 22 points to lead the Volunteers, his ninth straight game with at least 16 points. He made just 6 of 15 shots, but each of his made shots was a 3-pointer.

Texas A&M led by 14 at halftime and scored the first six points of the second half to stretch the advantage to 48-28. Taylor wowed the rowdy crowd of 12,995 in that span when he crashed to the ground after being fouled as he made a layup.

The Volunteers’ struggles from the first half continued after the break and they didn’t score until a 3-pointer by Santiago Vescovi with about 15 ½ minutes remaining. Tennessee missed five shots and committed two turnovers before that shot.

A 12-5 run by the Volunteers, with nine points by Zakai Zeigler, got them within 12 points with less than six minutes to go. But the Aggies made six free throws after that, and Tennessee missed its next four shots to make it 75-57 with 4 ½ minutes remaining.

Taylor made five 3-pointers in the game’s first 12 minutes to help the Aggies race out to a 30-16 lead. He cooled off after that, but the Aggies didn’t let up and the were up 42-28 at halftime.

THE TAKEAWAY

Tennessee: The Volunteers will need to solve the scoring woes that plagued them Saturday if they hope to compete with South Carolina and 16th-ranked Alabama for the SEC title.

Texas A&M: The Aggies have played their most consistent basketball of the season in the last six games, with their only loss in that span coming in a loss to Ole Miss on Jan. 27. But they’ll have to continue to improve if they hope to build on this success as three of their next five games are against ranked opponents.

Texas A&M athletics press release

February 10, 2024