Aggies notch another Quad 1 win, bolster Tournament resume
Texas A&M graduate guard Wade Taylor IV’s clutch 3-pointer pushed the No. 10 Texas A&M men’s basketball team to a hard-fought 67-64 ranked road victory over the No.15 Missouri Tigers on Saturday afternoon in front of a disappointed sellout crowd at Mizzou Arena.
The victory was the Aggies’ fifth straight in the series as the Maroon & White improved to 18-5 overall and 7-3 in SEC play, while the Tigers fell to 17-6 and 6-4. Taylor’s dagger with :02 seconds remaining handed the Tigers their first home loss of the season. The victory over the No. 15 Tigers matched the highest ranked road win of the Buzz Williams era, matching a 79-63 win over No. 15 Auburn in 2023.
Taylor’s trey culminated a back-and-forth final nine minutes as the Tigers fought back from as many as 12 points down to grab their first lead of the game with 8:55 remaining. Mizzou pushed the lead to as many five points before the Aggies were able get back to square on Zhuric Phelps’ layup and a Taylor 3-pointer with 6:29 left.
The Tigers again forged a three-point lead with just over four minutes left, but the Aggies went on a 6-0 run to grab a three-point advantage with less than two minutes on the clock. Two quick buckets by the Tigers gave them a one-point lead with :53 left. Andersson Garcia’s free throw evened the score at 64-64 with :42 left to set up Taylor’s heroic moment.
Strong play from Texas A&M’s bruising forwards set the stage for victory as junior transfer Pharrel Payne connected on 7-of-9 shots and hit six free throws on his way to a game-high 20 points and graduate Henry Coleman III pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds, including four off the offensive glass, and scored six points. The pair helped the Aggies score 38 points in the paint and post a decisive 18-to-9 advantage in second-chance points.
Joining Payne in double figures were Taylor with 15 points and senior Zhuric Phelps with 14. Playing a key role in the victory were the Aggie shot-blockers, who swatted six opponent attempts with Solomon Washington and Payne both tallying a pair. Taylor continued his climb up the SEC all-time scoring leaders list as he jumped Alabama’s Buck Johnson into No. 50.
The Aggies got off to a blistering start in the first half as they raced to a 12-0 lead on the strength of a “double turkey” with six defensive stops to start the game. Powering the offense early was Phelps, who scored five points before the Tigers managed a point and finish the first stanza with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Instrumental in the Aggies’ first half advantage was Coleman, who had 10 rebounds in the first 14:00 of the first half and finished the first 20 minutes with 11 boards and six points. Texas A&M took a nine-point advantage into half at 38-29.