Post Game Recap: After blowing a late lead, Texas A&M falls to Ole Miss 71-68
Texas A&M (12-8, 3-4 SEC) fell to the visiting Ole Miss Rebels (17-3, 4-3 SEC) in front of a packed Reed Arena on Saturday night, as every player, coach, and fan dutifully represented the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month while subtly draped in pink.
Coming off one of their worst offensive performances on the season in Tuesday’s win over Missouri, the Aggies started the game off hot, shooting an impressive 8-14 (57%) from the field, led by junior guard Wade Taylor IV’s 14 points, including three three-pointers.
Playing at a frenetic pace to start, A&M’s usual shooting woes began to seep in after holding a 27-18, allowing Ole Miss, one of the faster teams in the SEC, to run up and down the court during an 8-0 Rebels run. Whether it was bad shot selection or poor performance when holding the lead, Ole Miss slowly began to look like the better team.
Outside of sophomore forward Solomon Washington’s two free throws to take a one-point lead, Ole Miss took late control as guard Matthew Murrel drained a lead-taking three-pointer as time expired, giving Ole Miss a 31-29 lead heading into halftime.
Second Half:
The Rebel’s 14-0 record when leading at the half began to make sense as soon as the second half began, going on an unprecedented 13-0 run before Taylor broke through for a layup with 16 minutes remaining. However, credit to the Aggies and, of course, Wade Taylor’s heroic performance for waking up and returning the favor with an 11-3 run of their own, led by seven points on the star point’s guard’s end.
Finally getting the bigs involved in the paint, forwards Henry Coleman III and Andersson Garcia continued to provide effort-led production on the boards. However, working the offense inside out was challenging due to the Rebel’s size advantage.
Texas A&M continued to chip away despite Ole Miss’ continued offensive onslaught, as transfer guard Jace Carter nailed the first non-Wade Taylor outside shot of the night, providing the Aggies their first lead at 49-48 since the first half.
Suddenly, the tides turned for the Maroon & White, as the Aggies finally broke out with a 13-3 run behind, yes, Wade Taylor IV’s incredible floor leadership and smooth scoring to take a 60-55 lead while approaching the two-minute mark. However, this was short-lived, as the Rebels found a spark on the way to their 7-0 run to tie the game at 60 with just 2:01 left.
Ole Miss would take a two-point lead after guard Matthew Murrel’s mid-range jumper, leading to senior guard Tyrece Radford draining two free throw attempts to tie the game at 62. As we’ve seen throughout the season for A&M’s opponents, Ole Miss guard Jaylen Murray capitalized on Aggie’s defensive lapse, nailing a deep three-pointer to take a 65-62 lead at the 22-second mark.
After a Tyrece Radford free throw, paired with two free throws for the Rebels, Wade Taylor’s hero ball went into effect once again as the junior sprinted down the court, hitting 5th three-pointer on the night to get within one point. After two more free throws from Ole Miss, the Aggies had one more chance to tie the game with a three, but a foul on Taylor away from the ball sent him to the line, making both shots.
Sending Ole Miss back to the line, Murrel hit two more free throws to take the final 71-68 lead of the night, as Tyrece Radford’s three-point attempt to tie the game sailed right, ending the Aggie’s SEC win streak.
Texas A&M now disappointingly enters the bye week, needing to regroup before hosting the tough Florida Gators on Saturday, Feb. 3.
Below are the Aggies critical contributors from the game:
Wade Taylor IV: 30 points / 6 rebounds / 3 assists
Tyrece Radford: 13 points / 3 rebounds/ 2 assists
Henry Coleman III: 7 points / 5 rebounds
Jace Carter: 7 points / 12 rebounds
Ole Miss top contributors:
Jaemyn Brakefield: 15 points / 2 rebounds
Jaylen Murray: 13 points/ 5 assists
Allen Flanagan: 11 points / 7 rebounds
Texas A&M will host Florida inside Reed Arena on Saturday, Feb. 3. The game will air at 3:00 p.m. CT. and will air on ESPN2.
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