Texas A&M squanders 18-point first-half lead to Florida in SEC semifinal
Press conference video courtesy of the Southeastern Conference.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Heat waves are common in Florida. But an uncommon hot streak from the 3-point line in the second half was too much for Texas A&M to overcome.
The Gators, who rallied from an 18-point first-half deficit, hit 14 times from 3-point range to deal the Aggies (20-14) a 95-90 loss in the semifinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena.
Florida faces Auburn on Sunday for the SEC Tournament championship.
Wade Taylor IV scored 30 points and Solomon Washington and Tyrece “Boots” Radford each had 18. But that wasn’t enough to keep up with the Gators, who shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field in the second half.
Denzel Aberdeen, a little-used sophomore who was averaging just over two points, did most of the damage for Florida (24-10). He scored 20 points to lead a list of five Gators with at least 15.
The loss ended A&M’s five-game winning streak, which may have been sufficient to get the Aggies into the NCAA Tournament. They’ll find out if they’re in on Sunday night when the NCAA selection committee announces the 68-team field.
Just as in a 97-87 quarterfinal victory over Kentucky, the Aggies again got off to a fast start.
Taylor hit a trio of 3-pointers in the first four-and-a-half minutes to stake A&M to a 15-7 lead.
The margin swelled to 40-22 on another Taylor trey with 5:20 to play.
However, the Gators immediately rallied.
Aberdeen came off the bench to hit four buckets — including a pair of 3-pointers. The second one brought the Gators within 44-36 with 2:31 showing in the half.
Another Florida 3-pointer — this time from guard Will Richard — cut A&M’s lead to 46-39.
But twice Obaseki weaved inside for layups to ensure the Aggies went into the break ahead, 50-42.
That only delayed Florida’s rally, though.
The Gators’ Zyron Pullin opened the second half with a 3-pointer just left of the top-of-the-key. That set the tone for the rest of the game.
Florida hit 8-of-15 treys in the second half. An Aberdeen triple from the left wing put Florida ahead 59-58.
The margin grew to 11 points, 86-75, on a Walter Clayton four-point play with 3:21 left.
A&M mounted a late rally to get back within 88-84 on a Taylor 3-pointer with 1:54 showing.
The Aggies could get no closer. Their hopes for a comeback finally ended when trailing 92-88 as Taylor misfired on a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left.
