National Basketball Association
Texas A&M 68, Tennessee 63
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Where: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
Officials:
# Ron Groover, # Brian Dorsey, # Pat Adams
Attendance:
12989
By Field Level Media
Sophomore Wade Taylor IV matched a career high with 25 points and junior Julius Marble scored a personal-best 21 as host No. 25 Texas A&M won its sixth straight game, defeating No. 11 Tennessee 68-63 on Tuesday in College Station, Texas.
Marble also had nine rebounds and Taylor made 16 of the 28 free throws hit by the Aggies (21-7, 13-2 Southeastern Conference), who went to the line 34 times. Tennessee (20-8, 9-6), which lost for the fourth time in five games, finished 10 of 14 at the foul line.
The second-place Aggies, who are a half-game behind Alabama, improved to 14-1 at home.
The Volunteers pulled within 64-63 when Zakai Zeigler (14 points) made a layup with 25 seconds to play. Tennessee then forced a turnover, but Taylor immediately stole the ball back, then knocked down two free throws.
After Zeigler missed on a 3-point attempt that would have tied the score, Taylor sank two more foul shots to seal the win.
Tied 31-31 at halftime, the game stayed closed for the first four minutes of the second half. Tennessee took a 41-40 lead when Tobe Awaka (10 points) sank two free throws with 15:28 remaining. Texas A&M then scored the next 10 points.
Dexter Dennis made baskets on either side of a Marble dunk. A pair of free throws by Marble gave Texas A&M a 50-41 lead.
Santiago Vescovi's 3-pointer with 11:25 to play ended the Aggies' run and began a 15-7 surge for the Volunteers that got them within a point. After a Marble layup put Texas A&M ahead 59-56, Vescovi (14 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) made driving layup, but Taylor scored, then Marble made a free throw.
Tennessee, which has lost four straight road games, jumped out to a 9-0 lead. The Volunteers led nearly all of the first half, and they were up 27-20 with a little more than four minutes to go before the break.
Texas A&M, though, strung together an 11-2 spurt, highlighted by Tyrece Radford's follow-up basket and Andre Gordon's 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining that gave the hosts their first lead at 31-29. Awaka, however, scored just before the first-half buzzer.
The Volunteers shot 40 percent for the night, and the Aggies 39.1 percent.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Tennessee |
|
Texas A&M |
Santiago Vescovi 14 |
Scoring |
Wade Taylor IV 25 |
Santiago Vescovi 7 |
Assists |
Andre Gordon 3 |
Santiago Vescovi 10 |
Rebounds |
Julius Marble II 9 |
Tobe Awaka 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Wade Taylor IV 16 |
Santiago Vescovi 3 |
Steals |
Wade Taylor IV 4 |
Jonas Aidoo 2 |
Blocks |
Dexter Dennis 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Tennessee
|
63 |
40.0 |
9-31 |
10-14 |
19 |
30 |
4 |
9 |
16 |
Texas A&M
|
68 |
39.1 |
4-15 |
28-34 |
9 |
30 |
1 |
9 |
14 |