Texas A&M (13-8, 4-4 SEC) earned a much-needed 67-66 win over the visiting Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon, as one of the hottest teams in the country succumbed to a second-half Aggie surge, engineered by embattled veteran guard Tyrece Radford.
Radford, who scored a game-high 26 points (10-16, 2-3 3-Point), including the eventual game-winning shot with 35 seconds remaining, played like a man on a mission just a day after his arrest for an incident in December.
Looking to re-integrate himself as a dependable scoring option outside of star guard Wade Taylor IV, Radford’s 13 points in last Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss was as much of a wake-up call as ever.
Knowing that every game remaining on the Aggies’ conference schedule is a must-win from now on, Radford noted head coach Buzz Williams’s trust in his ability on the court and character through all the adversity he has dealt with the past two days.
“Buzz Williams believes in me. I believe in him. Buzz will be my guy for life. We believe in each other every day.”
This week, GigEm247’s Carter Karels and I conveyed the same message regarding Radford’s importance to Texas A&M’s offense not to waste Wade Taylor’s exceptional outings throughout the season and, most importantly, close games.
However, credit to Taylor’s 15 points coupled with forwards Soloman Washington’s (10 points, four rebounds) and Andersson Garcia’s (9 points, six rebounds) solid performances aided the Aggies late to overcome what was a 12-point deficit at the start of the second half.
“It was a team win, not just my big game. Everybody did a great job with what they’re supposed to do.”
Simply put, Stats do not lie, as the Aggies are now 10-1 when Radford scores at least 20 points in a game, and while Saturday’s production likely can’t be depended on week to week, this was indeed a solid rebound for a player with everything to prove.
With the win over the Gators, the Aggies now hold an impressive 5-4 Quad 1 record.
Texas A&M will be back on the road to take on the Missouri Tigers on Wed. Feb 7. at 8:00 pm CT
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