Aggies sticking around in Nashville after 80-71 win over Ole Miss

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With the game on the line, Texas A&M won it there.

The No. 7 seed Aggies (19-13) held off a furious rally by No. 10 seed Ole Miss (20-12) by converting 17 of 20 free throws in the waning moments to capture an 80-71 victory in the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena.

Wade Taylor IV scored 20 points, and Tyrece “Boots” Radford had 18 to lead five Aggies in double figures.

Solomon Washington contributed 13 points, while Manny Obaseki had 12, and Andersson Garcia recorded a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.

The Aggies, who keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive, advance to Friday’s quarterfinals to face No. 2 seed Kentucky (22-8) at 6 p.m. CT.

In posting their fourth consecutive win, which included an 86-60 drubbing of Ole Miss last weekend, the Aggies converted 27 of 37 free throws. They also pulled down 21 offensive rebounds, which were parlayed into 21 second-chance points.

Yet, from the outset, it was clear the Aggies would have to work much harder to win than the last time they played Ole Miss.

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Tyrece Radford hit eight three throws in the second half to help seal the deal. He finished 8-of-10 from the line.

Last week, A&M jumped out to a 14-0 lead. This time, the Aggies trailed 23-20 with less than seven minutes remaining in the half.

But then, Taylor scored seven points and assisted on a Wildens Leveque layup in a 9-0 run to charge ahead with a 29-23 lead.

However, Garcia got tangled up under the basket with Ole Miss’ Jaemyn Brakefield and was called for a Flagrant I foul.

Ole Miss capitalized. Brakefield, who led the Rebels with 23 points, made both free throws and followed with a three-point play on the ensuing possession.

The Aggies responded with layups by Garcia, Obaseki and Radford to hold a 35-31 edge at halftime.

A&M finally appeared to pull away midway through the second half, with Washington leading the charge.

Washington hit a 3-pointer with 11:23 showing to give the Aggies a 46-41 lead. Over the next two minutes, Washington put back a missed Jace Carter free throw and turned a pass from Taylor into a dunk.

That gave the Aggies a 54-45 lead with 8:42 remaining.

The margin grew to 61-48 on a Radford 3-pointer from the corner with 4:59 left.

However, the Aggies missed their next six shots. Ole Miss responded with a 10-0 run to get within 61-58.

Complicating matters, Washington fouled out with 2:57 left.

But Radford converted a pair of free throws to stop the run and give the Aggies a 63-58 lead with 1:48 to play.

That also started the Aggies’ explosion of free throws, which enabled them to close out the victory.