LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Texas A&M men’s basketball team dropped a 76-67 decision to the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday in front of 20,017 fans at Rupp Arena.
The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak and gave the Aggies the first blemish on their conference ledger as they dropped to 12-6 overall and 5-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
The back-and-forth affair saw 11 lead changes and neither team was able to muster a double-digit lead at any point. Texas A&M controlled play in the first half by hitting over 50% of their shots and defense that limited the Wildcats to just over 30.0% shooting from the field as the Aggies took a two-point advantage into halftime at 31-29.
The Wildcats rebounded in the second half offensively as they quickly turned the deficit into a lead less than a minute into the second stanza. The Aggies got the lead back a couple of times the second half but the Wildcats responded to every A&M advance on their way to the nine-point margin of victory.
The Aggies were led by a big offensive performance from graduate guard Tyrece Radford, who hit 7-of-11 shots from near and far for a team-high 22 points while also grabbing four rebounds. Also in double figures was Julius Marble with 12, and Dexter Dennis and Henry Coleman III with 10.
Wade Taylor IV tied for the team lead with six rebounds and distributed a game-high seven assists. The Aggies were a perfect 16-of-16 from the free throw line and have been perfect on free throw attempts in two straight games (23 straight made free throws).
Texas A&M Postgame Quotes/Notes
Head Coach Buzz Williams
On his thoughts about today’s game….
“I’m proud of the fight. I thought we played really hard. They [Kentucky] caused a lot of problems. They put a lot of stress on you and with as good of an atmosphere there is at any level in basketball. Mathematically, it’s just hard to overcome when your opponent shoots 18 more shots. I would say what has led to the first five wins is what caused the first loss. We had been dominant on the glass on both sides of the ball and today we missed 25 shots and only got four of them back. We were first in the league in offensive rebounds percentage and today we were in the teens. We were first in defensive rebounds percentage, and they missed 40 shots and got 17 of them back. We played with our lowest offensive rebounds percentage and our lowest defensive rebounds percentage, and we played with our highest turnover percentage. Mathematically, you’re just burning the candle at both ends and it’s so hard to overcome. For the game that it was, if you only saw the stats, it just speaks to the heart that we were fighting with.”
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Postgame Notes
Kentucky 76, Texas A&M 67
Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M fell to the Kentucky Wildcats, 76-67, Saturday afternoon at Rupp Arena.
- The Aggies drop to 13-6 overall and 5-1 in SEC action.
- The Maroon & White fall to 4-11 in the all-time series against the Wildcats.
TEAM NOTES
- The Aggies shot 49% from the field (24-of-49) and 100% (16-of-16) at the charity stripe.
- Four players finished in double figures for the seventh time this season, with the last time coming against LSU on Jan. 7.
- The Maroon & White scored 28 points in the paint, finishing 11-of-16 in layups.
- The Aggies dished out double-digit (10) assists for the 17th time this season.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Henry Coleman III, Dexter Dennis, Julius Marble, Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV for the 10th time this season (8-2).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Henry Coleman III
- Finished with 10 points, going 5-of-7 from the field.
- Recorded double figures for the 10th time this season and 29th of his career.
- Collected six rebounds.
- Logged a season-high 37 minutes.
Dexter Dennis
- Registered his fifth straight game of tallying double-digit points after finishing with 10.
- Recorded double-digit points for the ninth time this season and 55th of his career.
- Went a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
- Hauled in six rebounds and swiped two steals.
- Played a season-high 38 minutes.
Julius Marble
- Recorded his sixth consecutive game in double figures, all of which he’s done in every SEC game, after totaling 12 points.
- Scored 8 of his 12 points in the first half.
- Finished 4-of-4 at the free throw line.
- Registered double-digit points for the 12th time this season and 20th of his career.
Tyrece Radford
- Led the team with 22 points after going 7-of-11 from the field, 2-of-4 from three and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
- Scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half.
- Collected four rebounds and dished out an assist.
- Recorded his 11th double-digit performance of the season and 68th of his career.
- Tallied 20-or-more points for the third time this season and 10th of his career.
- Led the team in points for the sixth time this season.
Wade Taylor IV
- Filled up the stat sheet after finishing with eight points, a career-high six rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
- Led the team in assists for the 12th time this season and 24th of his career.
- Tied with Coleman III and Dennis with six rebounds, led the team in rebounds for the first time in his career.
Story by Brad Marquardt, Assistant AD/Athletics Communications