Aggies Fall to Gators 95-90 in SEC Tournament Semifinal; Await NCAA Fate
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The Texas A&M Aggies SEC Tournament run has ended at the hands of the Florida Gators via a 95-90 loss at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday.
The loss ends a five-game winning streak by A&M, equalling the streak the Aggies built to open the season, and extends the Gators' current streak to three. Florida will now meet Auburn in the SEC Tournament championship game on Sunday.
© Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Aggies held a 50-42 lead at the break but allowed 53 second-half points by the Gators as they took the win to advance.
Aggies guard Wade Taylor IV scored 30 on 10-of-23 shooting from the field while dishing out four assists. Tyrece Radford and Solomon Washington chipped in 18 each as Washington also pulled down 10 rebounds for the only double-double of the game. Manny Obaseki scored 12 as the only other Aggie in double figures.
For the Gators, Denzel Aberdeen scored 20 off the bench while starting guard Will Richard hit 4-of-9 3-pointers en route to 19 points. Three other Florida players hit double-digit points as guard William Clayton dropped in 16 and forward Tyrece Samuel and guard Zyon Pullin both scored 15.
A&M once again won the rebound battle 42-32 while dominating the offensive boards 16-9. But the Aggies' defense could not overcome the Gators' 53.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc as Florida sank 14-of-26 3-pointers during the game. Texas A&M could manage just 8-of-21 on 38.1 percent from deep.
The Aggies were eliminated from the SEC Tournament a day sooner than last season when they made the championship game but lost to the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Coach Buzz Williams and the team will now wait to see if they'll hold a spot in the NCAA Tournament that begins with the First Four playing March 19-20 and the First Round tipping off March 21-22.