Texas A&M
4-014-2; SEC
Florida
2-210-6; SEC
No. 15 Men's Basketball Tops Florida, 71-68
Jan 12, 2016 | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) -- Texas A&M didn't enjoy having to fight off Florida until the very last seconds Tuesday night.
However, the 15th-ranked Aggies know that winning games like this will help them as they get deeper into the season.
Jalen Jones scored 26 points and Danuel House added 22 to help the Aggies outlast Florida 71-68 for their seventh straight win.
Florida (10-6, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) never led after halftime but tied it twice and never let the Aggies pull away.
"When you get later down in conference the games are going to get even tougher, and this game right here is going to prepare us for the end of the season and for other games past that," Jones said.
Dorian Finney-Smith made a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 67-66 with 26 seconds left. Anthony Collins made two free throws and Florida got within one point again on a basket by Chris Chiozza with 11 seconds left. The Gators were forced to foul again and Collins made two more free throws to extend the lead to three.
John Egbunu fouled as the Gators brought the ball down the court giving A&M (14-2, 4-0) the ball back. But Chiozza's steal gave Florida a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
"We couldn't put them away," Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. "They were active. They were aggressive. They're hard to score against. I'm just thankful we came away with a win."
Finney-Smith led the Gators with 17 points and Justin Leon had 16.
A&M's 4-0 record in SEC play is its best league start since going 4-0 to open Big 12 play in 2006-07. The Aggies are 10-0 at home this season and their seven-game winning streak is the longest since winning 13 straight in 2010-11.
"It feels very great for our confidence," Jones said. "We feel like we're the best team in the SEC and we just try to play like that every night."
The Aggies led by 10 points after a 3-pointer by Jones with about 8 minutes left. Florida scored the next eight points, three from Kasey Hill, to cut the lead to 59-57.
Florida cut the lead to four on a tip-in by Hill with a minute left and looked to have a sure basket on a fast break by him a few seconds later. But Alex Caruso sprinted in from behind and blocked his shot out of bounds. The Gators got the ball back and Finney-Smith made the 3-pointer that got them within one.
The game was tied when House scored five quick points to give A&M a 45-40 lead with about 15 minutes left. He got the crowd going soon after that on a dunk off an alley-oop from Anthony Collins that left A&M up 47-44.
Florida's KeVaughn Allen, who averages 10.5 points a game, was held scoreless and was most often guarded by Caruso.
"I'd like to credit Alex Caruso," Florida coach Mike White said. "Alex Caruso will just blow up a play. He kind of throws you off your rhythm offensively."
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Postgame Notes
#15 Texas A&M 71, Florida 68
Jan. 12, 2016 Reed Arena (College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M ran its winning streak to seven consecutive games on Tuesday night, defeating Florida 71-68 at Reed Arena … The Aggies are now 14-2 and a perfect 4-0 in SEC play.
- With the victory, A&M matched the league start of the 2006-07 A&M squad which won its first four Big 12 contests … Texas A&M's last five-game winning streak to begin conference play came during the 1985-86 season, when A&M won five straight Southwest Conference games.
- Texas A&M now holds a perfect 10-0 on its home court this season.
- The win was the Aggies' second straight over the Gators inside Reed Arena and cut UF's lead in the all-time series down to 5-3.
TEAM NOTES
- Texas A&M matched a season-low with seven turnovers in the contest (Cal Poly [12/29]) while forcing 16 Gator turnovers … The disparity lead to a 21-4 A&M advantage in points off turnovers
- The Aggies owned a 33-28 advantage at the intermission after not allowing UF to reach the free throw line or collect a steal in the first half.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Anthony Collins, Alex Caruso, Danuel House, Jalen Jones and Tyler Davis for the fourth time this season (4-0).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
- Seniors Jalen Jones (26 points) and Danuel House (22 points) each eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the second consecutive game after the duo accomplished the feat in Saturday's win over Tennessee.
- For Jones, who made 8-of-13 field goal attempts in the contest, the outing was his third 20-point effort in his last four games as well as his sixth overall 20-point showing of the season.
- House, meanwhile, made 7-of-24 shots but was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.
- Senior Anthony Collins was clutch from the charity stripe in the game's final moments, making a pair of free throws with 22.9 and 8.5 seconds remaining to give him his only four points of the night … The Houston native is a perfect 24-of-24 from the free throw line this season.
- Senior Alex Caruso dished out seven assists while committing only one turnover on the night while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds … The College Station native has 25 assists and only seven turnovers in league play (3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio).
- Texas A&M head coach Billy Kennedy improved to 85-63 in his fifth season at Texas A&M and 296-242 in 18 seasons as head coach.
UP NEXT
- Texas A&M travels to Athens, Ga., on Saturday to battle Georgia in a 1 p.m. (CT) match-up televised by ESPNU.
