National Basketball Association
Texas A&M 66, Florida 63
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Where: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
Officials:
# Brian Dorsey, # K.B. Burdett, # Chuck Jones
Attendance:
7023
By Field Level Media
Wade Taylor IV scored 17 points, including the go-ahead basket with 42 seconds remaining, lifting visiting Texas A&M to a 66-63 win over Florida on Wednesday in Gainesville, Fla.
The Aggies (9-5, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) also got 17 points apiece from Julius Marble and Tyrece Radford to pick up their first-ever win at Florida. Texas A&M entered the game 0-6 all-time at the O'Connell Center.
Taylor put Texas A&M up 65-63 with a running basket in the lane in the final minute. Florida had two chances to tie but Kyle Lofton missed a runner in the lane. Then, off a Texas A&M turnover, Trey Bonham was whistled for an offensive foul with 7.3 seconds left.
Bonham led Florida (7-7, 0-2) with 21 points, but it wasn't enough for the Gators to avoid their fourth loss in their last five games. Colin Castleton added 14 points and five rebounds, including a steal and breakaway lay-in that tied the score at 63 with 1:06 left.
Texas A&M won the game with defense, scoring 21 points off 20 turnovers while holding Florida to 45.5 percent shooting from the floor.
Behind 10 points from Marble, Texas A&M took a 34-23 lead into halftime. The Aggies smothered Florida defensively with relentless on-ball pressure defensive, limiting the Gators to 37.5 percent shooting in the first half while forcing nine turnovers.
Texas A&M took an early 20-12 lead on a basket in the lane by Taylor, but the Gators responded with a quick 5-0 run, cutting the Aggies' lead to 20-17 on a Bonham 3-pointer.
But Castleton was whistled on a technical for taunting on Bonham's trey. Texas A&M made both free throws, starting an 8-0 run that ended with a Taylor 3-pointer which extended Texas A&M's lead to 28-17.
The Gators started the second half with a 13-2 run, tying the score at 36 on a Castleton free throw.
The start of the game was delayed 10 minutes because Texas A&M forgot to bring its game jerseys from the team hotel. Florida was awarded a technical free throw for the delay-of-game infraction, which Will Richard sank before the opening tip to give the Gators a 1-0 lead.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Texas A&M |
|
Florida |
Julius Marble II 17 |
Scoring |
Trey Bonham 21 |
Andersson Garcia 2 |
Assists |
Trey Bonham 4 |
Dexter Dennis 6 |
Rebounds |
Colin Castleton 5 |
Dexter Dennis 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Colin Castleton 6 |
Andersson Garcia 2 |
Steals |
Colin Castleton 1 |
Henry Coleman III 1 |
Blocks |
Colin Castleton 4 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Texas A&M
|
66 |
37.7 |
2-16 |
18-28 |
9 |
32 |
1 |
10 |
10 |
Florida
|
63 |
45.5 |
7-19 |
16-22 |
10 |
33 |
4 |
4 |
20 |