Wade Taylor IV's Heroics Not Enough as Texas A&M Aggies Fall to No. 4 Houston Cougars
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The Texas A&M Aggies faced their toughest test yet this season at the Toyota Center on Saturday against the hometown Houston Cougars.
No. 4 Houston (11-0) proved to be every bit of a national contender in the first half, but had to answer the heroics of Wade Taylor IV in the second half. Despite rallying back from 21 down to tie the game with 1:31 left, Texas A&M came up just short in a 70-66 loss.
Down 68-66 with seven seconds left, A&M forward Henry Coleman III missed a pair of potential game-tying free throws to help Houston seal the win.
Taylor IV led the Aggies (7-4) with a game-high 34 points on 6 of 14 shooting from 3-point range. The only Aggie in double figures, he had 13 points in the final three minutes of action, nearly carrying A&M to a comeback and upset win.
"In the first half, we were fine. We just got out of sorts. We had eight turnovers... My mindset in the second half was to limit the turnovers," Taylor IV said, per TexAgs.
Coleman posted six points and 12 rebounds, but the rest of the team outside of Taylor failed to get going on offense.
Wade Taylor IV
© Erik Williams, USA TODAY
Houston got a team-high 21 points from Emmanuel Sharp, who was one of four starters in double figures. Baylor transfer L.J. Cryer added 17 points while Jamal Shead had 12 points and eight assists.
Even after building a quick 7-0 lead, A&M looked stagnant in the first half thanks to some stifling Houston defense and headed into the locker room down 38-23 after two late 3s from Cryer.
Houston kept the 3-point barrage going to start the second half, as the Cougars seemed like they were headed for a blowout win. However, they scored just four points over a near eight-minute stretch as the Aggies slowly got back in the game, using a 21-4 run over an 11-minute span.
Sharp hit a back-breaking triple to extend the lead to 60-53 before the Aggies cut the lead to four at 60-56. Shead then had a potential dagger 3-pointer of his own by making it seven-point game, but Taylor IV responded again with another deep make.
Taylor kept keeping things interesting, but it ultimately wasn't enough.
The Aggies host Houston Christian on Friday.