Taylor's late foul shots send Texas A&M past Florida

Feb 16, 2022, 02:46 am

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- — Quenton Jackson scored 16 points and Wade Taylor IV sank three foul shots with 19 seconds left and Texas A&M ended its eight-game losing streak by beating Florida 56-55 on Tuesday night.

Florida's Phlandrous Fleming Jr. missed a jump shot with three seconds remaining, the Gators lost control on an offensive rebound attempt with 0.8 seconds left and the Aggies (16-10, 5-8 Southeastern Conference) killed the clock.

The Aggies led 43-31 on Javonte Brown's layup with 11:02 remaining before Florida launched its comeback. The Gators outscored Texas A&M 16-2 over the next six minutes and a pair of Niels Lane foul shots gave Florida a 47-45 lead, its first lead since 4-2 with almost three minutes gone by.

Tyree Appleby sank a 3 and Fleming buried another with 1:44 left and Florida led 55-51. Jackson buried a jumper with 1:30 to go and the final points of the game came on Taylor's foul shots.

Jackson was the only player to score in double digits for Texas A&M, which finished 19-for-56 shooting (33.9%) including 16 missed shots on 18 attempts from beyond the arc.

Despite the Gators going 7:24 in the first half without scoring, Texas A&M went to halftime with just a 27-20 lead. Florida shot 21.9% (7 for 32) including a paltry 13.3% (2 for 15) from beyond the 3-point line. Texas A&M fared only slightly better shooting 32.1% (9 for 28) and 10% (1 for 10) from beyond the arc.

Colin Castleton scored 15 points and had 15 rebounds — one away from tying his career high — for Florida. Myreon Jones scored 10 for the Gators (16-10, 6-7), which leads the series 9-5.

Florida hosts No. 2 Auburn on Saturday while Texas A&M hits the road to take on Vanderbilt on Saturday.

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