Credit to Brad Marquardt | Assistant Athletics Director for Athletics Communications – 12thman.com
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Texas A&M men’s basketball team erased an early 20-point deficit and grabbed its first lead of the game with seven seconds left but were doomed by a late Razorback floater in a 78-77 heart-breaker to Arkansas in front of an announced crowd of 19,200 on Tuesday at the Bud Walton Arena.
Preseason SEC Player of the Year Wade Taylor IV gave the Aggies (10-7 overall, 1-3 in the SEC) their only lead of the night on a clutch 3-pointer that gave him a career-high 41 points, but the Hogs’ Tramon Mark took the ensuing inbound the length of the court and delivered the contested game-winner with about a second left.
It was the third time the Aggies have completed at least a 20-point rally this season, following a pair of program-record 21-point rallies vs. Iowa State and Houston. Down 14 points at halftime, head coach Buzz Williams sought to change the Aggies’ fortunes with a wardrobe change into a sweater and black jeans.
Perhaps sparked by the change, the Aggies charged out of the gates to cut the deficit to single digits less than three minutes into the second half. By the 12:38 mark, the Aggies had closed within four points. The Arkansas returned to double-digits with 3:43 remaining, but the Aggies scored seven quick points to claw back into the game and then tied the game at 74-74 on a Taylor layup with :50 remaining. Arkansas regained the lead with a pair of free throws before Taylor connected on his fifth 3-pointer for the brief one-point advantage.
Taylor’s big night was the first 40-point game by an Aggie since Elston Turner had 40 against Kentucky in 2014 and it was the most points since Don Marbury torched the Baylor Bears for 41 points in 1985.
It was his fourth game with 30-plus points this season, including his second straight. Taylor hit 13-of-32 shots, including five 3-pointers, and was 10-of-13 on free throws. Senior Andersson Garcia made all five of his shots from the field while chipping in 10 points and 12 rebounds to register his second double-double of the season.
Coming into the game as the nation’s top offensive rebounding team, the Aggies earned 25 second-chance points on the strength of 19 offensive caroms. Suffering just two turnovers, Texas A&M took 23 more shots than the Hogs and made four more field goals but missed 10 of 33 free throws while the Razorback connected on 31 of 40 shots from the charity stripe. The Aggies won the rebounding battle by 12, 47-35, and limited the Razorbacks to only three offensive rebounds. Twenty-eight of the Aggies’ points were from the paint and the Maroon & White posted 16 fast break points.
The Aggies struggled from the onset, falling behind 6-0 by the game’s first media timeout and quickly trailing by double digits less than 10 minutes into the first stanza. The Razorbacks roared to a 20-point lead before the Aggies trimmed the lead to 14 by the break, 46-32. The Aggies warmed a bit as the half wore on but managed only to hit 29.7% of their field goals, including 1-of-15 from deep. Taylor IV paced the Aggies with 12 points, which included the lone trey.
GAME NOTES:
IN THE HISTORY BOOK: Wade Taylor IV scored a career-high 41 points with 13 field goals and five threes. This is the most by an Aggie since Jan. 5, 1985, when Don Marbury scored 41 against Baylor. The last time a Texas A&M player had a 40-point scoring game was in 2013 when Elston Turner scored 40 at Kentucky Jan. 12, 2013, making Taylor’s 41 the most points scored against an SEC opponent since joining SEC play. Taylor’s 32 field goal attempts are the third-most field goal attempts in conference play and fourth-most all time.
ANDYS COMING: Andersson Garcia tallied his second double-double of the year and his first in SEC play with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Garcia went 5-of-5 from the field and had a game-high five offensive and seven defensive rebounds. This is the first double-double in SEC play this year for the Aggies.
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK: The Aggies had two turnovers while forcing eight. This is the least amount of turnovers Texas A&M has had since joining the SEC.
BOARDS CREATE: Texas A&M outrebounded Arkansas 47 to 35 and grabbed 19 to the Razorbacks three offensive boards. This led to 25 second-chance points for the Maroon & White and only nine for Arkansas.