News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
LAS VEGAS – The No. 20 Texas A&M men’s basketball team and preseason all-league guard Wade Taylor IV found their shot down the stretch as the Aggies rallied past the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 81-77, in the fifth-place game at the Players Era Festival on Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Texas A&M improved to 6-2 after a 2-1 effort in Las Vegas and has a quick turnaround with a SEC-ACC Challenge matchup with Wake Forest on Tuesday at Reed Arena.
Taylor poured in a season-high 24 points, including 16 in the second half, while making 7-of-14 field goal attempts and hitting a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He also dished out a game-high five assists.
A flurry of points by Rutgers quickly erased a six-point Aggies’ lead after the break and Texas A&M quickly found itself chasing a nine-point deficit midway through the period. But as they did in their second-round win over No. 21 Creighton, the Aggies showed their resolve and methodically drew even with 8:21 remaining on a Taylor 3-pointer, which was the first of the game for the Aggies after 11 consecutive misses.
From there the two teams exchanged blows to the tune of 12 ties or lead changes until Manny Obaseki’s dunk on a fast break gave the Aggies the lead for good. Texas A&M’s defense rose to the challenge as the Scarlet Knights’ were held without a point for the final three minutes of the game and the Maroon & White closed out the win with a trio of clutch free throws from Taylor and Zhuric Phelps.
Led by Taylor’s fearless drives to the bucket, the Aggies earned a season-high 42 free throw attempts and fouled out two Scarlet Knights. Texas A&M hit 31 freebies, marking the second time this season the Aggies have made more than 30 free throws.
Joining Taylor in double digits were Henry Coleman III, Solomon Washington and Manny Obaseki with 11 points each. Coleman shared the team lead with Andersson Garcia with six rebounds. Washington played above the rim as he swatted away a season-high four Rutgers shots.
The Aggies had forged a 40-34 first-half advantage with strong defense and by earning 25 trips to the free throw line. Nine Aggies attempted first-half freebies, including five by C.J Wilcher and Pharrel Payne. Texas A&M connected on 20-of-25 from the charity stripe as 50.0% of their first-half points came from the line. Strong defense led to 11 first-half turnovers by the Scarlet Knights, which the Aggies cashed in for 16 points.