No. 8 Texas A&M pull away late to seal win over Arkansas

Field Level Media|published: Sat 15th February, 14:47 2025

Feb 15, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies guard Wade Taylor IV (4) drives as Arkansas Razorbacks guard D.J. Wagner (21) defends during the first half at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Wade Taylor IV scored 18 points and keyed a late Texas A&M surge as the eighth-ranked Aggies pulled away over the final eight minutes for a 69-61 win over Arkansas on Saturday afternoon in a Southeastern Conference clash in College Station, Texas.

A&M never trailed after the 12:30 mark of the first half. The game was tied at 50-50 with just over eight minutes to play until the Aggies (20-5, 9-3 SEC) reeled off a 9-0 run culminated by a putback layup by Henry Coleman III with 5:08 remaining.

A layup and then a free throw by Andersson Garcia stoked the A&M lead to a game-high 11 points with 2:45 to play. Arkansas never got closer than seven points the rest of the way as the Aggies won their fifth straight game.

Zhuric Phelps added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds for A&M while Garcia had 11 points.

Karter Knox led the Razorbacks (15-10, 4-8 SEC) with 17 points while Zvonimir Ivisic added 13 and Adou Thiero had 10 points before he fouled out with 2:45 to play. Arkansas has dropped two of its past three games.

The Razorbacks owned the game's initial four-plus minutes, roaring out to an 8-0 lead after Johnell Davis's 3-pointer at the 16:43 mark. Texas A&M missed its first seven shots and committed three turnovers in that opening stretch that put it behind the eight-ball early on.

Phelps' jumper with 15:01 remaining in the half finally got the Aggies on the board. His 3-pointer and then a dunk and a layup from Pharrel Payne -- the latter at the 12:59 mark -- propelled A&M into a 10-9 lead.

The teams traded the front through the rest of the half, with a 3-pointer by C.J. Wilcher with 25 seconds to play allowing A&M a 33-28 advantage at the break.

Knox led all scorers with nine points before halftime while Phelps' seven points paced the Aggies.

A&M expanded its lead to seven points twice over the first five and a half minutes of the second half, the second on a Phelps steal and dunk with 14:26 to play. Arkansas swung back, getting layups from Thiero and Davis to pull to within 46-43 with 13:21 left.

--Field Level Media

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