Radford's 20-point performance ends slide as A&M defeats Georgia

One long drought ended another on Saturday night in Georgia.

Texas A&M (16-13, 7-9) ended a five-game Southeastern Conference basketball losing streak by holding Georgia (15-14, 5-11) scoreless over the final 6:35 en route to taking a 70-56 victory.

It was A&M’s first victory since defeating Tennessee 86-69 on Feb. 10. It also keeps alive the Aggies’ precarious hopes of participating in March Madness.

Further, the Aggies took a giant step toward clinching a first-round bye in the postseason SEC Tournament. Another A&M win or an Arkansas loss would ensure a first-round bye for the Aggies.

“We’re thankful to win,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “I don’t know how much of it was good. But I know the togetherness and the fight and the things that are intangible you could feel. For us, that at least gives us a chance.

“It’s been a long two-and-a-half weeks. We’re thankful that we kept hope alive.”

Tyrece Radford and Andersson Garcia posted double-doubles and Manny Obaseki had second consecutive strong outing.

Radford had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Garcia had 11 points and 10 boards and Obaseki had 12 points and five rebounds.

Their work on the boards helped A&M accumulate 50 rebounds and score 27 second-chance points.

A&M dominated the boards despite the absence of forward Henry Coleman III, who reportedly did not make the trip because of an injury.

Of all the Aggies accomplished, the clutch defensive effort was the most impressive.

They held a mere 60-56 lead with 6:35 left but forced the Bulldogs to miss their final nine shots.

Overall, A&M limited Georgia to 32.3 percent shooting. The Bulldogs did connect 10 times from 3-point range, but it took 41 attempts.

From the outset, Georgia attacked from the 3-point line. The Bulldogs hit eight treys in the first half. They took a 21-15 lead after consecutive triples from Silas Demary Jr. and Blue Cain, who led Georgia with 11 points.

A&M controlled play the rest of the half.  

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Wade Taylor did not score until 3:08 in the second half. 

Radford and Garcia hit back-to-back 3s to highlight a 13-3 run which gave the Aggies a 28-24 lead with 5:51 remaining. They did not trail again.

The Aggies hit 5-of-17 attempts from 3-point range in the first half and outscored Georgia 14-2 in the paint.

Surprisingly, Wade Taylor IV, who was averaging 18.7 points, did not score in the first half. Yet, the Aggies held a 34-32 edge at the break.

A&M opened the second half with a 6-0 run, which was capped by a Radford layup for a 40-32 lead.

A&M maintained a 58-49 lead after a Hayden Hefner 3-pointer with 8:41 remaining.

But Georgia answered with a layup by Cain and a 3-pointer from Jabri Abdur-Rahim to cut the margin to 58-54.

Garcia then tipped in a missed shot for A&M, but Cain hit a jumper with 6:35 to play.

But that would end the Bulldogs’ scoring. And the Aggies' five-game slide.

“There weren’t a lot of things that were pretty, and it took literally every single one of us every single second,” Williams said. “I’m very grateful.”