Taylor's clutch triple lifts No. 10 A&M to a road victory at No. 15 Mizzou

Deadlocked with Missouri and with just 10 seconds to play, Texas A&M prepared to inbound the basketball for a final shot.

The Aggies knew who would take it. Missouri knew who would take it. A noisy Mizzou Arena crowd knew who would take it. An SEC Network television audience knew who would take it.

Wade Taylor IV took a pass from Andersson Garcia, took a 3-point jumper from the right wing, and No. 10 Texas A&M (18-5, 7-3) took a thrilling 67-64 Southeastern Conference victory over No. 15 Missouri (17-6, 6-4) on Saturday afternoon.

As the final seconds ticked away, Taylor passed to Garcia just left of the top-of-the-key.

Garcia moved right back toward Taylor, who was closely guarded by Missouri’s Marques Warrick. Taylor, though, was able to elude Warrick enough to receive a bounce pass from Garcia and launch a shot that hit nothing but net.

“We tried to get a fake handoff,” Taylor said in a postgame television interview. “We wanted Andy to go in and try to get a bucket. One of their guys overplayed, and I kind of just tried to slip it and get a shot off because I knew our guys were ready to rebound on the weak side. I just wanted to get on the rim.

“A couple of my shots before hit back rim. I was praying that one wouldn’t hit back rim, and it went in.”

Although Taylor hit the shot, A&M coach Buzz Williams praised Garcia for getting the ball to Taylor.

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Although, Andersson Garcia scored just one point, the “Dominican Rodman” added two offensive rebounds and three assists to the box score.

“Andy is probably our best decision-maker that has some level of size,” Williams said. “I thought how he handled the options… He’s deserving of that credit, too.”

Taylor finished with 15 points. Of those, 11 came in the second half. He hit three treys in the second half.

Forward Pharrel Payne led the Aggies with 20 points. Guard Zhuric Phelps had 14. Forward Henry Coleman III scored six points and pulled down 16 rebounds.

Missouri was led by Tamar Bates with 16 points and Jacob Crews with 14.

However, sharp-shooting guard Caleb Grill was frustrated by the Aggies’ defensive effort. Grill entered the game ranked second in the nation with a 49.5 shooting percentage from 3-point range. Yet, he managed just four points and was 0-for-4 behind the arc, including a last-second heave that missed its mark.

Defense at the arc was a major factor in the win. Missouri was second in the SEC in 3-point percentage and averaged 9.1 treys per game.

The Tigers hit just 5-of-21 shots from 3-point range. They were 1-of-8 in the second half.

A&M’s victory continued a series of hard-fought road games. The Aggies are 4-2 on the road in SEC play. All four road victories have been decided by four points or less. Previously, A&M posted SEC road wins over Oklahoma, Ole Miss and South Carolina.

“All of those games seem to happen in slow motion, similar to today’s game,” Williams said. “You don’t necessarily ever think it’s over, ever. You don’t necessarily think that this possession is not the most monumental possession of this game. I think that was our 10th game decided by five points or less.”

Taylor’s game-winning shot eased what had been a largely frustrating second half in which A&M muddled through an extended scoring drought and converted just 6-of-13 free throws. A&M was also outrebounded in the second half, 20-15.

The Aggies, who led 38-29 at halftime, maintained a 49-41 lead after Taylor hit a 3-pointer with 14:50 to play.

However, they did not score again for more than seven minutes. That drought enabled Missouri to rally and eventually take a 56-51 lead when Bates drilled a deep 3-pointer to cap a 15-2 run.

Payne eventually ended the drought with a layup. Taylor followed with a 3-pointer to forge a 56-56 tie with 6:24 left.

Though neither team led by more than three the rest of the way, Missouri moved in front, 64-63, on a breakaway dunk by Bates with 53 seconds left.

Garcia was fouled on the ensuing possession and brought the Aggies even with a free throw.

Then, with 14 seconds, Bates missed a 15-foot jumper. Solomon Washington rebounded, and A&M called timeout to set up a final shot.

Everyone knew who would take it.