Oof
A late rally by the No. 12 Texas A&M men’s basketball team fell short as the Vanderbilt Commodores held on for an 86-84 victory on Wednesday at Reed Arena.
The Aggies fell to 20-8 overall and 9-6 in SEC play with their third straight loss, while the Commodores tallied their second straight AP Top 25 win to improve to 19-9 and 7-8.
Facing a 10-point deficit with 3:33 remaining, the Aggies were able to whittle the deficit to two points at 86-84 with just over a second remaining. Texas A&M forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play, but the Commodores thwarted the Aggies’ desperation lob to the rim with 0.4 of a second left. The rally was powered by Zhuric Phelps with 11 points in the final minute and a couple of 3-pointers from C.J. Wilcher.
The Commodores were able to answer the Aggies’ advances with timely 3-pointers and a 77.8% success rate at the free throw line. Led by Tyler Nickel’s 7-of-10 effort from beyond the arc, VU hit 10 3-pointers at a 41.7% clip. At the line, the Commodores accumulated 28 points on 36 attempts.
Junior transfer Pharrel Payne led all scorers as he matched his season high with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while also tallying six rebounds. Wade Taylor IV scored 21 points, which included a 13-of-16 effort from the line, and dished out six assists. Phelps finished with 14 points with 11 coming in the second half. Rounding out the double-figure scorers was Wilcher, who chipped in 12 points as he matched his season high with four treys. Andersson Garcia reeled in 11 rebounds, while matching his season high with five off the offensive glass.
Texas A&M tallied its 16th game with 40+ rebounds with 44 total boards, including 18 from the offensive glass. The Aggies earned 39 trips to the free throw which they converted into 31 points. The Maroon & White logged their fifth straight game with 10+ assists with 15 dishes.
The Aggies continue their SEC slate this Saturday as they travel to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. and airs on SEC Network.