Texas A&M (5-2) earned one of its biggest wins Wednesday night against No. 21 Creighton, defeating sharpshooting Blue Jays 77-73 behind a late Aggie offensive surge.
Needing to find more consistency on offense, Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams once again relied on start point guard Wade Taylor IV, who led the Aggies with 18 points and three key three-pointers.
However, A&M’s front court won this game down the stretch, as forwards Henry Coleman (17 points, nine rebounds), Andersson Garcia (10 points, seven rebounds), and Solomon Washington (10 points, six rebounds) powered their way through the paint.
In one of his worst shooting nights, senior guard Zhuric Phelps finished 2-15 from the floor, missing layup after layup after scoring 20 points in Tuesday’s loss to Oregon. While Williams opted to continue feeding Phelps in the pick-and-roll, Coleman and Garcia deserve much credit for finishing several of Phelp’s misses at the rim.
Trailing 31-27 at the half, a defensive battle ensued while the Blue Jays’ elite three-point shooting nearly put the game out of reach, but thanks to a solid rebounding night (48), the Aggies kept things close with just a second remaining.
Taking a 64-61 lead after a Wade Taylor 3-pointer, Creighton’s outside shooting continued the lead-trading dual, but the game permanently swung Texas A&M’s way after Solomon Washington’s and one, making it 72-70 with over 30 seconds remaining.
After Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner made one of two free throws, Henry Coleman’s pressure-breaking dunk, and another Solomon Washinton layup ended the game and delivered the Aggies their second potential Quad 1 win of the year.
Note: Head coach Buzz Williams earned his 100th win with Texas A&M in his sixth season.
Texas A&M will play in the 5th place game of the Players Era Tournament at 2:30 p.m. CT. on Saturday.
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