With less than a minute left in overtime during Texas A&M‘s 97-92 upset victory versus No. 6 Kentucky on Saturday at Reed Arena, a contentious offensive foul call nearly changed the outcome of the game.
Graduate student guard Tyrece Radford nailed a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a 97-89 lead over the Wildcats with 48.2 seconds remaining. However, the referees called Radford for an offensive foul, which negated the made basket and enraged many in Aggieland.
This was called an offensive foul against Texas A&M pic.twitter.com/hyTd4gF9hD
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) January 13, 2024
After the game, Radford gave his perspective on the controversial call.
“I was on the ground and looked at the ref who called it. I didn’t kick my leg out purposefully. I just needed to move on to the next play. I thought it was the and-1 at first,” Radford recalled. “Coming into the game, they were telling me to hoop and be myself. We tell each other to keep shooting. One thing that carries over is our defense. We continue to play and continue to hoop.”
Radford finished the game with a season-high 28 points on 11-of-22 field goal attempts. His teammate, junior G Wade Taylor IV, racked up a game-high 31 points.
After the win, head coach Buzz Williams shared his thoughts on his backcourt dynamic duo.
“Whether they make or miss a bunch of shots, I love them,” Williams said. “I’m never going to betray my relationship with those players or with their families. I want them to make shots. Today we made shots and that gave us a chance. I’ve never won against Kentucky. I’m hopeful that we can continue on this path we’ve built. Our players and staff are all overachievers. We have a bus full of people who have worked incredibly hard to have this chance.”
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