News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – Boosted by the return to all-conference guard Wade Taylor IV, the No. 11 Texas A&M men’s basketball team delivered a 68-57 victory over the LSU Tigers in front of a raucous crowd of 12, 812 on Saturday at Reed Arena.
The victory by the Aggies snapped a two-game losing streak and improved the Aggies’ overall record to 14-4 and 3-2 against SEC opponents. The Tigers fell to 13-6 and 1-4 in league play.
Taylor, the graduate from Dallas, had missed the previous three games with an undisclosed injury, but picked up where he had left off with 12 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals while hitting 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. With Taylor running the show, the Aggies dished out an impressive 15 assists, which were the team’s season high against power conference opponents.
The teams were knotted at 30-all at halftime and the two teams traded blows for the first six minutes of the second stanza before the Aggies took the lead for good with a 10-0 run powered by a 3-pointer and tip-in from Louisiana native Solomon Washington. A 3-pointer by Jace Carter pushed the lead to double digits with 7:03 remaining and the Aggies closed out the Tigers down the stretch for the 11-point win.
Joining Taylor in double digits were Zhuric Phelps with a team-high 13 points and Henry Coleman III with 10. Phelps also pulled down six rebounds and dished out six assists. Washington and Andersson Garcia tied for the team lead with seven rebounds as the Aggies earned a 38-33 advantage on the boards.
Washington had four offensive boards while Garcia chipped in three to boost the Aggies to a 14-6 advantage on the offensive glass which contributed to a 32-18 point advantage in the paint.
Coming into the game as the SEC’s leaders in turnover margin, the Aggies forced 18 takeaways while giving up only nine turnovers leading to a 19-4 bulge in points off turnovers.
Postgame Notes
- Wade Taylor IV eclipsed the 1,800 plateau in career points. He is the first SEC player to do it since Mississippi State’s Quinndary Weatherspoon reached the milestone in 2019.
- The Aggies limited the Tigers to just 17 field goals, marking the eighth time the opponent has been held to 20 or fewer FGs. LSU shot just 36.2 from the field and became the third SEC opponent to fail to hit 40.0% vs. the Aggies.
- Zhuric Phelps has reached double digit in points in nine straight games and pulled down five or more rebounds in seven straight games.
Postgame Quotes
Coach Buzz Williams – On what Wade Taylor IV brought during his absence….
“His spirit was phenomenal. He just didn’t have the ball. The words he was using, the intensity of those words, his emotions. He probably should have sat in my chair more often than I should have in the timeouts. He graduated from Texas A&M in 3 years and never dropped a class. He’s ultra smart, just IQ, but his IQ as a player is just as smart.”On coming into the second half and building the lead….
“We had four turkeys (three consecutive stops). We forced seven turnovers in the first half and our defensive rebounding percentage was 78%. In the second half, we had four more turkeys, and we forced 11 turnovers, and our defensive rebound percentage was about 82%. I thought when the ball was on the ground, our plan was excellent. I thought our guys carried that plan out, but I think when the ball was in the air, we were much better and statistically, it’s the best we’ve been all season from a defensive rebounding percentage.”
Graduate Guard Wade Taylor IV
On the decision to come back on the court …
“I know this won’t be the last time I play basketball here, I know I have a future hopefully, but I also want to give my team 100%, I didn’t want to come back 75, 80%, and I’m not my best out there for them because that’s… I find that selfish. I feel like that’s just trying to get out there just because I can. I don’t want to be 99%. I wanted to be 100%, so I can get my team what they need of me and what I need of them. So I just want to take it day by day, I didn’t want to rush it and make it worse of course, but I’m thankful I waited, I’m thankful the guys stepped up and we came out with some wins, but I’m excited to be back.”
Junior Forward Solomon Washington
On the last 10 minutes of the game…
“It was defense, I told the guys at halftime, we’re looking too relaxed on defense. The guys are getting straight line drives, we’re not really talking on the weak side, and that’s always a difference maker for us. When we get turkeys, we’re turning team over 18 times, that’s when we could create, that’s when our defense could create offense and then just go hand in hand.”