TENN

TEXAM

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Taylor has 25 as No. 25 A&M downs No. 11 Tennessee 68-63

AP
Feb 21, 2023

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) Early in Tuesday night's game, someone on Tennessee's bench reminded Texas A&M's Wade Taylor IV of what happened the last time these teams met last season in the Southeastern Conference tournament title game.

''One of the dudes on the bench said: `thanks for the ring last year in the tournament,''' Taylor said. ''And that just kind of stuck with me throughout the game.''

Taylor made sure the result would be different this time around, scoring 25 points, including four free throws down the stretch, and No. 25 Texas A&M extended its winning streak to six games with a 68-63 victory over No. 11 Tennessee.

''I thought that the fight and the togetherness and the spirit that they competed with . was as good as I've ever seen,'' coach Buzz Williams said.

The Aggies (21-7, 13-2) are off to their best start since joining the SEC in the 2012-13 season.

It's the fourth loss in five games for the Volunteers (20-8, 9-6), with their only win in this stretch coming in a 68-59 victory over then-No. 1 Alabama on Wednesday.

Julius Marble made two free throws with 46 seconds left to push Texas A&M's lead to 64-61.

A 3-point attempt by Olivier Nkamhoua bounced off the rim with 33 seconds remaining and the Aggies knocked the ball out of bounds to give the Volunteers the ball back.

Zakai Zeigler made a layup to cut the lead to 1 with 25 seconds left.

Santiago Vescovi stole the inbounds pass after a timeout by A&M, but Taylor grabbed it right back before being fouled. He made both free throws to make it 66-63 with 17 seconds remaining.

Zeigler shot an air ball on his 3-point attempt after that and Taylor was fouled again and he made two more free throws to secure the win.

Marble was asked about the big plays the Aggies made in crunch time.

''It starts in practice,'' he said. ''The coaching staff prepares us for situations like this where we've got to get a stop. We practice that all the time so we were pretty poised in those situations.''

Vescovi and Zeigler had 14 points each for Tennessee.

''Overall I know our guys are disappointed. . We put ourselves into position to win, we just didn't close it out at the end,'' Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said.

Marble added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Aggies, who haven't lost since Jan. 21.

A free throw by Marble extended Texas A&M's lead to four points with about three minutes left. But Zeigler got a steal and finished with a 3 on the other end to get Tennessee within 62-61 with less than two minutes to go to set up the wild finish.

The Aggies were down by 1 early in the second half before using a 10-0 run, with the help of two turnovers, to take a 50-41 lead with 12 minutes to go.

Dexter Dennis made four points in that stretch and Marble had four points, including a dunk.

The Volunteers got their first points in more than 3 1/2 minutes after that when Vescovi made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 50-44.

Texas A&M led by 6 midway through the second half before Nkamhoua made a 3-pointer to start an 8-3 run that cut the lead to 57-56 with seven minutes remaining.

AT THE LINE

The Aggies made 28 of 34 free throws while Tennessee had just 14 attempts, making 10.

Barnes was disappointed in his team's fouling overall, but particularly upset with the two times his players fouled the Aggies while they were attempting 3-pointers, which led to five points.

''We just can't do that,'' Barnes said.

UP NEXT

Tennessee: Hosts South Carolina on Saturday night.

Texas A&M: Visits Mississippi State on Saturday.

---

AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

1st Half
TENN
Volunteers
31
TXAM
Aggies
31

Time		Play	Score
20:00		Jonas Aidoo vs. Henry Coleman III (Julius Marble gains possession)
19:44		Julius Marble misses two point hook shot
19:42		Jonas Aidoo defensive rebound
19:18		Jahmai Mashack misses two point layup
19:16		Jonas Aidoo offensive rebound
19:14		Wade Taylor IV shooting foul (Jonas Aidoo draws the foul)
19:14	+1	Jonas Aidoo makes regular free throw 1 of 2	1-0
19:14	+1	Jonas Aidoo makes regular free throw 2 of 2	2-0
18:45		Julius Marble misses two point hook shot
18:43		Santiago Vescovi defensive rebound
18:19		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
18:17		Julius Marble defensive rebound
18:12		Julius Marble turnover (bad pass) (Jahmai Mashack steals)
17:57	+3	Jahmai Mashack makes three point jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)	5-0
17:45		Wade Taylor IV misses two point jump shot
17:43		Jonas Aidoo defensive rebound
17:26	+2	Jonas Aidoo makes two point hook shot (Zakai Zeigler assists)	7-0
17:07		Aggies 30 second timeout
17:02		Tyrece Radford misses two point layup
17:00		Jonas Aidoo defensive rebound
16:53		Tyrece Radford personal foul (Jahmai Mashack draws the foul)
16:38	+2	Zakai Zeigler makes two point layup	9-0
16:28		Jonas Aidoo blocks Julius Marble's two point layup
16:26		Julius Marble offensive rebound
16:20	+2	Julius Marble makes two point layup	9-2
16:08		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
16:06		Aggies defensive rebound
15:52		Dexter Dennis misses three point jump shot
15:50		Volunteers defensive rebound
15:50		TV timeout
15:29		Olivier Nkamhoua misses two point jump shot
15:27		Julius Marble defensive rebound
15:05		Jahmai Mashack shooting foul (Julius Marble draws the foul)
15:05		Julius Marble misses regular free throw 1 of 2
15:05	+1	Julius Marble makes regular free throw 2 of 2	9-3
14:50		Tyreke Key misses three point jump shot
14:48		Jahmai Mashack offensive rebound
14:41	+2	Zakai Zeigler makes two point jump shot (Jahmai Mashack assists)	11-3
14:30		Olivier Nkamhoua personal foul (Henry Coleman III draws the foul)
14:19		Andre Gordon turnover (lost ball)
13:57		Jahmai Mashack turnover (traveling)
13:48	+3	Wade Taylor IV makes three point jump shot (Andersson Garcia assists)	11-6
13:22		Zakai Zeigler turnover (bad pass) (Henry Coleman III steals)
13:13		Wade Taylor IV misses three point jump shot
13:11		Andersson Garcia offensive rebound
13:04		Jonas Aidoo blocks Henry Coleman III's two point jump shot
13:02		Jonas Aidoo defensive rebound
12:52	+2	Jonas Aidoo makes two point layup (Jahmai Mashack assists)	13-6
12:32		Tyreke Key personal foul (Andre Gordon draws the foul)
12:18		Andre Gordon misses two point jump shot
12:16		Tyreke Key defensive rebound
11:56		Santiago Vescovi turnover (bad pass) (Andre Gordon steals)
11:38	+2	Julius Marble makes two point layup (Dexter Dennis assists)	13-8
11:16		Dexter Dennis blocks Zakai Zeigler's three point jump shot
11:14		Tyrece Radford defensive rebound
11:06		Dexter Dennis misses two point jump shot
11:04		Santiago Vescovi defensive rebound
10:51		Santiago Vescovi turnover (bad pass) (Tyrece Radford steals)
10:42	+2	Julius Marble makes two point jump shot (Tyrece Radford assists)	13-10
10:35		Volunteers 30 second timeout
10:35		TV timeout
10:11		Tyreke Key misses three point jump shot
10:09		Dexter Dennis defensive rebound
9:54		Andersson Garcia turnover (lost ball) (Santiago Vescovi steals)
9:31	+2	Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point jump shot (Tyreke Key assists)	15-10
9:18		Jonas Aidoo personal foul
9:16		Wade Taylor IV turnover (bad pass)
9:16		Julius Marble personal foul
8:47	+3	Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot (Olivier Nkamhoua assists)	18-10
8:32	+2	Wade Taylor IV makes two point layup	18-12
8:11		Andersson Garcia shooting foul (Olivier Nkamhoua draws the foul)
8:11		Olivier Nkamhoua misses regular free throw 1 of 2
8:11	+1	Olivier Nkamhoua makes regular free throw 2 of 2	19-12
8:03		Jonas Aidoo shooting foul (Wade Taylor IV draws the foul)
8:03	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 1 of 2	19-13
8:03	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 2 of 2	19-14
7:45		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
7:43		Tobe Awaka offensive rebound
7:40	+2	Tobe Awaka makes two point layup	21-14
7:22		Hayden Hefner turnover (bad pass) (Tobe Awaka steals)
7:15		TV timeout
7:01		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
6:59		Henry Coleman III defensive rebound
6:51		Hayden Hefner misses two point layup
6:49		Solomon Washington offensive rebound
6:41	+2	Wade Taylor IV makes two point layup	21-16
6:41		Jahmai Mashack shooting foul (Wade Taylor IV draws the foul)
6:41	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 1 of 1	21-17
6:30		Tyreke Key misses three point jump shot
6:28		Santiago Vescovi offensive rebound
6:18		Olivier Nkamhoua misses two point jump shot
6:16		Tobe Awaka offensive rebound
6:16		Dexter Dennis personal foul (Tobe Awaka draws the foul)
6:16		Official timeout
6:15	+2	Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point layup (Zakai Zeigler assists)	23-17
6:15		Dexter Dennis shooting foul (Olivier Nkamhoua draws the foul)
6:15	+1	Olivier Nkamhoua makes regular free throw 1 of 1	24-17
6:07		Santiago Vescovi shooting foul (Wade Taylor IV draws the foul)
6:07	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 1 of 3	24-18
6:07	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 2 of 3	24-19
6:07	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 3 of 3	24-20
5:59		Zakai Zeigler turnover (traveling)
5:47		Tyrece Radford misses two point layup
5:45		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
5:17		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
5:16		Official timeout
5:16		Volunteers turnover (shot clock violation)
5:04		Tyrece Radford misses two point layup
5:02		Olivier Nkamhoua defensive rebound
4:37	+3	Tyreke Key makes three point jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)	27-20
4:13		Tobe Awaka shooting foul (Julius Marble draws the foul)
4:13	+1	Julius Marble makes regular free throw 1 of 2	27-21
4:13		Julius Marble misses regular free throw 2 of 2
4:13		Olivier Nkamhoua defensive rebound
3:57		Zakai Zeigler offensive foul (Julius Marble draws the foul)
3:57		Zakai Zeigler turnover (offensive foul)
3:57		TV timeout
3:40		Tyrece Radford misses three point jump shot
3:38		Andersson Garcia offensive rebound
3:35	+3	Andersson Garcia makes three point jump shot	27-24
3:16		Andersson Garcia personal foul (Tobe Awaka draws the foul)
3:16		Tobe Awaka misses regular free throw 1 of 1
3:16		Olivier Nkamhoua offensive rebound
3:02		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
3:00		Julius Marble defensive rebound
2:41		Tyreke Key personal foul (Wade Taylor IV draws the foul)
2:41	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 1 of 2	27-25
2:41	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 2 of 2	27-26
2:31		Zakai Zeigler turnover (bad pass) (Wade Taylor IV steals)
2:24		Tyrece Radford misses three point jump shot
2:22		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
1:57	+2	Tobe Awaka makes two point layup (Santiago Vescovi assists)	29-26
1:36		Andre Gordon misses three point jump shot
1:34		Tyrece Radford offensive rebound
1:27		Wade Taylor IV misses three point jump shot
1:25		Tyrece Radford offensive rebound
1:22	+2	Tyrece Radford makes two point layup	29-28
1:09		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
1:07		Olivier Nkamhoua offensive rebound
1:07		Henry Coleman III personal foul (Olivier Nkamhoua draws the foul)
1:07		Olivier Nkamhoua misses regular free throw 1 of 1
1:07		Volunteers offensive rebound
1:00		Olivier Nkamhoua turnover (bad pass) (Wade Taylor IV steals)
0:47	+3	Andre Gordon makes three point jump shot (Tyrece Radford assists)	29-31
0:31		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
0:29		Tyrece Radford defensive rebound
0:26		Henry Coleman III misses two point alley-oop layup
0:24		Henry Coleman III offensive rebound
0:06		Wade Taylor IV offensive foul (Santiago Vescovi draws the foul)
0:06		Wade Taylor IV turnover (offensive foul)
0:01	+2	Tobe Awaka makes two point layup (Santiago Vescovi assists)	31-31
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
TENN
Volunteers
32
TXAM
Aggies
37

Time		Play	Score
19:51	+2	Olivier Nkamhoua makes two point turnaround jump shot (Zakai Zeigler assists)	33-31
19:36		Jahmai Mashack blocks Wade Taylor IV's two point jump shot
19:34		Henry Coleman III offensive rebound
19:32		Zakai Zeigler shooting foul (Henry Coleman III draws the foul)
19:32	+1	Henry Coleman III makes regular free throw 1 of 2	33-32
19:32	+1	Henry Coleman III makes regular free throw 2 of 2	33-33
19:13	+3	Zakai Zeigler makes three point bank jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)	36-33
18:57	+2	Julius Marble makes two point layup	36-35
18:57		Jonas Aidoo shooting foul (Julius Marble draws the foul)
18:57	+1	Julius Marble makes regular free throw 1 of 1	36-36
18:43		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
18:41		Tyrece Radford defensive rebound
18:32		Olivier Nkamhoua personal foul (Henry Coleman III draws the foul)
18:31		Tobe Awaka shooting foul (Julius Marble draws the foul)
18:31	+1	Julius Marble makes regular free throw 1 of 2	36-37
18:31		Julius Marble misses regular free throw 2 of 2
18:31		Santiago Vescovi defensive rebound
18:16		Tyrece Radford personal foul (Santiago Vescovi draws the foul)
17:55		Volunteers turnover (shot clock violation)
17:42		Uros Plavsic personal foul (Henry Coleman III draws the foul)
17:36	+2	Tyrece Radford makes two point layup	36-39
17:36		Zakai Zeigler shooting foul (Tyrece Radford draws the foul)
17:36	+1	Tyrece Radford makes regular free throw 1 of 1	36-40
17:06		Tyreke Key misses two point jump shot
17:04		Dexter Dennis defensive rebound
17:03		Dexter Dennis turnover (lost ball)
16:48	+3	Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot (Jahmai Mashack assists)	39-40
16:31		Wade Taylor IV misses three point jump shot
16:29		Santiago Vescovi defensive rebound
16:06		Henry Coleman III personal foul (Santiago Vescovi draws the foul)
16:00		Santiago Vescovi misses two point jump shot
15:58		Wade Taylor IV defensive rebound
15:52		Wade Taylor IV turnover (bad pass) (Santiago Vescovi steals)
15:39		Henry Coleman III personal foul (Santiago Vescovi draws the foul)
15:39		TV timeout
15:28		Tyrece Radford shooting foul (Tobe Awaka draws the foul)
15:28	+1	Tobe Awaka makes regular free throw 1 of 2	40-40
15:28	+1	Tobe Awaka makes regular free throw 2 of 2	41-40
15:17	+2	Dexter Dennis makes two point jump shot (Andre Gordon assists)	41-42
14:42		Volunteers turnover (shot clock violation)
14:32	+2	Julius Marble makes two point dunk (Wade Taylor IV assists)	41-44
14:08		Tyreke Key misses three point jump shot
14:06		Andersson Garcia defensive rebound
14:04		Tobe Awaka personal foul (Andersson Garcia draws the foul)
14:04		Andersson Garcia misses regular free throw 1 of 1
14:04		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
13:46		Santiago Vescovi misses two point jump shot
13:44		Wade Taylor IV defensive rebound
13:34		Julius Marble offensive foul (Jahmai Mashack draws the foul)
13:34		Julius Marble turnover (offensive foul)
13:15		Santiago Vescovi turnover (bad pass) (Andre Gordon steals)
13:07	+2	Dexter Dennis makes two point layup (Andre Gordon assists)	41-46
12:56		Volunteers 30 second timeout
12:56		TV timeout
12:42		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
12:40		Wade Taylor IV defensive rebound
12:39		Tyreke Key personal foul (Wade Taylor IV draws the foul)
12:39	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 1 of 2	41-47
12:39	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 2 of 2	41-48
12:26		Tyreke Key misses three point jump shot
12:24		Dexter Dennis defensive rebound
12:00		Jonas Aidoo shooting foul (Julius Marble draws the foul)
12:00		TV timeout
12:00	+1	Julius Marble makes regular free throw 1 of 2	41-49
12:00	+1	Julius Marble makes regular free throw 2 of 2	41-50
11:43		Julius Marble personal foul (Zakai Zeigler draws the foul)
11:26	+3	Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot (Jahmai Mashack assists)	44-50
11:12		Jahmai Mashack shooting foul (Wade Taylor IV draws the foul)
11:12	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 1 of 3	44-51
11:12		Wade Taylor IV misses regular free throw 2 of 3
11:12	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 3 of 3	44-52
10:52		Santiago Vescovi misses three point jump shot
10:50		Tobe Awaka offensive rebound
10:50		Dexter Dennis personal foul (Tobe Awaka draws the foul)
10:50	+1	Tobe Awaka makes regular free throw 1 of 2	45-52
10:50	+1	Tobe Awaka makes regular free throw 2 of 2	46-52
10:36		Wade Taylor IV turnover (bad pass) (Olivier Nkamhoua steals)
10:33		Wade Taylor IV shooting foul (Olivier Nkamhoua draws the foul)
10:33	+1	Olivier Nkamhoua makes regular free throw 1 of 2	47-52
10:33	+1	Olivier Nkamhoua makes regular free throw 2 of 2	48-52
10:21	+2	Tyrece Radford makes two point layup	48-54
10:01		Jahmai Mashack misses two point jump shot
9:59		Santiago Vescovi offensive rebound
9:52		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
9:50		Santiago Vescovi offensive rebound
9:50		Henry Coleman III personal foul (Santiago Vescovi draws the foul)
9:50		Santiago Vescovi misses regular free throw 1 of 1
9:50		Santiago Vescovi offensive rebound
9:43	+3	Olivier Nkamhoua makes three point jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)	51-54
9:13		Julius Marble misses two point jump shot
9:11		Andersson Garcia offensive rebound
9:06		Julius Marble turnover (lost ball) (Jahmai Mashack steals)
8:45		Tobe Awaka turnover (bad pass) (Andre Gordon steals)
8:30		Tyrece Radford misses three point jump shot
8:28		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
8:15		Jahmai Mashack misses three point jump shot
8:13		Santiago Vescovi offensive rebound
8:02		Olivier Nkamhoua turnover (lost ball) (Wade Taylor IV steals)
7:59		Wade Taylor IV misses two point layup
7:57		Andre Gordon offensive rebound
7:54	+3	Tyrece Radford makes three point jump shot (Andre Gordon assists)	51-57
7:32	+3	Santiago Vescovi makes three point jump shot (Zakai Zeigler assists)	54-57
7:09		Olivier Nkamhoua blocks Tyrece Radford's two point layup
7:07		Zakai Zeigler defensive rebound
7:04	+2	Zakai Zeigler makes two point layup	56-57
6:52		TV timeout
6:39	+2	Julius Marble makes two point hook shot (Dexter Dennis assists)	56-59
6:13		Santiago Vescovi turnover (traveling)
5:58		Dexter Dennis misses two point layup
5:56		Volunteers defensive rebound
5:42		Olivier Nkamhoua misses two point turnaround jump shot
5:40		Julius Marble defensive rebound
5:24		Hayden Hefner misses three point jump shot
5:22		Jahmai Mashack defensive rebound
4:57	+2	Santiago Vescovi makes two point layup (Jonas Aidoo assists)	58-59
4:43		Aggies 30 second timeout
4:32	+2	Wade Taylor IV makes two point jump shot	58-61
4:04		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
4:02		Dexter Dennis defensive rebound
3:46		Tyrece Radford misses three point jump shot
3:44		Santiago Vescovi defensive rebound
3:23		Olivier Nkamhoua misses two point jump shot
3:21		Julius Marble defensive rebound
3:04		Jonas Aidoo shooting foul (Julius Marble draws the foul)
3:04		TV timeout
3:04		Julius Marble misses regular free throw 1 of 2
3:04	+1	Julius Marble makes regular free throw 2 of 2	58-62
2:43		Zakai Zeigler misses two point jump shot
2:41		Julius Marble defensive rebound
2:34		Wade Taylor IV turnover (bad pass) (Zakai Zeigler steals)
2:18	+3	Zakai Zeigler makes three point jump shot (Santiago Vescovi assists)	61-62
1:44		Official timeout
1:44		Julius Marble turnover (lost ball) (Zakai Zeigler steals)
1:18		Zakai Zeigler misses two point jump shot
1:16		Julius Marble defensive rebound
0:48		Wade Taylor IV misses three point jump shot
0:46		Julius Marble offensive rebound
0:46		Olivier Nkamhoua shooting foul (Julius Marble draws the foul)
0:46	+1	Julius Marble makes regular free throw 1 of 2	61-63
0:46	+1	Julius Marble makes regular free throw 2 of 2	61-64
0:45		Volunteers 30 second timeout
0:34		Olivier Nkamhoua misses three point jump shot
0:32		Volunteers offensive rebound
0:30		Official timeout
0:25	+2	Zakai Zeigler makes two point layup (Olivier Nkamhoua assists)	63-64
0:25		Volunteers 60 second timeout
0:22		Aggies 30 second timeout
0:19		Tyrece Radford turnover (bad pass) (Santiago Vescovi steals)
0:17		Santiago Vescovi turnover (lost ball) (Wade Taylor IV steals)
0:17		Santiago Vescovi personal foul (Wade Taylor IV draws the foul)
0:17	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 1 of 2	63-65
0:17	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 2 of 2	63-66
0:06		Zakai Zeigler misses three point jump shot
0:04		Aggies defensive rebound
0:03		Official timeout
0:03		Jahmai Mashack personal foul (Wade Taylor IV draws the foul)
0:03	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 1 of 2	63-67
0:03	+1	Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 2 of 2	63-68
0:00		End of period

+ 1

Wade Taylor IV makes regular free throw 2 of 2