Evan Roberts, Texas A&M Athletics Communications
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Quenton Jackson scored 16 points and Wade Taylor IV sank three foul shots with 19 seconds left and Texas A&M ended its eight-game losing streak by beating Florida 56-55 on Tuesday night.
Florida’s Phlandrous Fleming Jr. missed a jump shot with three seconds remaining, the Gators lost control on an offensive rebound attempt with 0.8 seconds left and the Aggies (16-10, 5-8 Southeastern Conference) killed the clock.
The Aggies led 43-31 on Javonte Brown’s layup with 11:02 remaining before Florida launched its comeback. The Gators outscored Texas A&M 16-2 over the next six minutes and a pair of Niels Lane foul shots gave Florida a 47-45 lead, its first lead since 4-2 with almost three minutes gone by.
Tyree Appleby sank a 3 and Fleming buried another with 1:44 left and Florida led 55-51. Jackson buried a jumper with 1:30 to go and the final points of the game came on Taylor’s foul shots.
Jackson was the only player to score in double digits for Texas A&M, which finished 19-for-56 shooting (33.9%) including 16 missed shots on 18 attempts from beyond the arc.
Despite the Gators going 7:24 in the first half without scoring, Texas A&M went to halftime with just a 27-20 lead. Florida shot 21.9% (7 for 32) including a paltry 13.3% (2 for 15) from beyond the 3-point line. Texas A&M fared only slightly better shooting 32.1% (9 for 28) and 10% (1 for 10) from beyond the arc.
Colin Castleton scored 15 points and had 15 rebounds – one away from tying his career high – for Florida. Myreon Jones scored 10 for the Gators (16-10, 6-7), which leads the series 9-5.
Florida hosts No. 2 Auburn on Saturday while Texas A&M hits the road to take on Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 56, Florida 55
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M got back in to the win column as it defeated Florida, 56-55, Tuesday night inside Reed Arena.
- The Aggies move to 16-10 (5-8 SEC) on the season.
- The win over Florida marked the first over the Gators since 2016 in which the Aggies won, 72-66, at the SEC Tournament.
TEAM NOTES
- A&M was a perfect 16-for-16 from the free throw line, marking the first time it has shot 100% from the charity stripe (min. 10 attempts) since going 20-for-20 against Florida A&M on Dec. 15, 2008.
- The Aggies outscored the Gators, 30-22, in the paint. Texas A&M is now 11-4 when leading their opponent in points from the paint.
- Entering the game as the nation’s 10th-best team in forcing turnovers, Texas A&M forced 14 Gator turnovers and converted those in to 17 points.
- Nine Aggies saw at least 10 minutes of action, led by Tyrece Radford and Quenton Jackson’s 32 and 29 minutes, respectively.
- The Aggies used a new starting lineup of Marcus Williams, Quenton Jackson, Henry Coleman III, Tyrece Radford and Javonte Brown for the first time this season (1-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Quenton Jackson led the team in scoring, notching 16 points and hauled in eight rebounds. Jackson has scored in double figures in each of the last eight games.
- Javonte Brown set a career high in rebounds with seven, including five offensive, and matched his career high with six points, while playing in a career-high 20 minutes.
- Andre Gordon registered a career-high seven rebounds, and matched career high in steals with four.
- Wade Taylor IV came off the bench to score eight points and nailed all three of his free-throws to give the Aggies a 56-55 lead.
- Hassan Diarra and Taylor recorded a team-high three assists.
UP NEXT
Texas A&M travels to compete against Vanderbilt inside Memorial Gym on Saturday at 5 p.m.