Aggies Fall Just Short at Kentucky, 74-73

Tuesday, January 9

Lexington, Ky.

6 p.m.

Texas A&M

11-5, 0-4

Kentucky

13-3, 3-1

Texas A&M

Kentucky

Photo by: Adam Padgett

Jan 09, 2018 | Men's Basketball

Box Score UK 74, A&M 73 - Final Stats (PDF)Highlights Coach Kennedy Postgame

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- PJ Washington made a steal that led to Kevin Knox's go-ahead layup with 2:28 left, then added four points down the stretch to help No. 21 Kentucky rally past Texas A&M 74-73 on Tuesday night.

Trailing 59-53 with 8:43 remaining, the Wildcats clawed back to tie the game three times before Washington stole a high pass and fed Knox for a 69-67 lead. Washington added a layup between two free throws for a 73-69 edge.

The Aggies weren't done, taking advantage of missed Kentucky free throws to get within a point with four seconds left on Robert Williams' tip-in. Two Washington misses at the line set up a final chance for Texas A&M, but a long pass sailed out of bounds as time expired.

Hamidou Diallo had 18 points, Washington and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 16 each and Knox got 15 as Kentucky (13-3, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) bounced back from last weekend's loss at No. 24 Tennessee. Gilgeous-Alexander also had seven rebounds and five assists starting in place of Quade Green, who was ruled out just before tipoff because of a back strain.

Tyler Davis had 21 points and Admon Gilder 14 for the Aggies (11-5, 0-4), who lost their second consecutive one-point game.

Texas A&M Basketball
Postgame Notes
#21 Kentucky 74, Texas A&M 73
Jan. 9, 2018 | Rupp Arena (Lexington, Ky.)

RECORDS / SERIES NOTES

Texas A&M fell to No. 21 Kentucky 74-73 Tuesday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky … The Aggies are now 11-5 on the season with an 0-4 record in SEC play.
The all-time series between the schools now stands at 9-3 in favor of UK.

TEAM NOTES

Texas A&M was outrebounded for just the second time this season, coming up on the short-end of a 28-27 margin on the glass.
UK shot 55.8 percent from the field (24-of-43) while the Aggies made 26-of-52 shots (50 percent).
Kentucky took a 37-35 lead to the intermission.
Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of JJ Caldwell, Admon Gilder, DJ Hogg, Tonny Trocha Morelos and Tyler Davis for the first time this season (0-1) … the grouping was A&M's seventh different starting lineup this season.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

Junior Tyler Davis produces his ninth career 20-point game, leading the Aggies in scoring with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
Returning after missing the previous five games due to injury, junior guard Admon Gilder contributed 14 points.
Freshman TJ Starks came up two points short of his career-high, finishing with 10 points.
Sophomore Robert Williams saw his nation-leading 41-game blocked shot streak come to an end … The Oil City, La., native contributed 12 points, all in the second half, along with eight rebouds.
Aggie head coach Billy Kennedy fell to 126-90 during his seven-year tenure at Texas A&M and 337-269 in 20 seasons as a head coach.
Graduate transfer guard Duane Wilson missed the game as he recovers from a knee injury ... he is listed as day-to-day.

UP NEXT

The Aggies' two-game roadtrip continues as they travel to Knoxville to face No. 24 Tennessee on Saturday ... The game will tip off at 5 p.m. (CT) be televised on SEC Network.

Postgame Quotes

Texas A&M Head Coach Billy Kennedy

Opening Statement …
"Had our opportunities in a hard fought game. I thought that we needed to make big free throws and big shots. We got good looks, we just didn't knock them down. We had some opportunities, we just didn't make enough plays down the stretch and put them at the free throw line in one stretch that was critical. I think they shot six or eight free throws in a row and we had a hard time guarding them without fouling. At the end there, I didn't see what happened, but that's a tough call for somebody to make. I know my guy is telling me it was a bear hug, but I don't know if the clock went out on them or what happened there. It's something I've got to go watch."

On good looks from three …
"As good as you're going to get. Our best shooters, and we just missed them. We had great opportunity to make open shots throughout the game I thought, against the zone you have to make shots. It was good having Admon Gilder in the back and DJ Hogg, they can definitely make a difference. But, they just missed some shots that they just need to make."

On how Texas A&M showed resilience …
"It's only going to get better. I thought we got better today. We did some things better against LSU. We're still shorthanded with Duane Wilson not being back. We hope to have him back against Tennessee, he'll add some perimeter experience with the point guard and another he's guy that can make the 3. I thought Tyler Davis did a good job. Robert Williams, I think he got tired and missed some free throws that he's capable of making and he practiced those a whole lot—I think you could see that in his late performance."

On Robert Williams taking a while to get going offensively …
"He missed three days this week with the flu. He didn't play in this last game so he hadn't played since the Florida game. He's got to get his conditioning back so he can be ready to compete."

Kentucky Coach John Calipari

Q. Did you see the type of toughness you wanted?
JOHN CALIPARI: Toughness doesn't mean roughness. Toughness means that you're engaged, that you're playing people before they catch the ball, that you're meeting people before the ball hits the rim when you rebound, that you're sprinting the floor every time and bouncing, and you're talking. We got closer. But still that's going to be a work in progress. Until we get really good at that, we're going to be who we are. Every team that plays us is going to have a chance.

I mean, I got to give Billy (Kennedy) and A&M credit for the end of the game. They had a chance to beat us. Had a chance. It was like, wait a minute. You miss a couple free throws. How about we were going to switch everything and we left the man in the corner? Yeah, that's not toughness. See, that means you're not engaged in what's going on.

We told them, we're switching everything. That guy left the corner man. Thank God he missed. I mean, there was another play, an easy switch on a pick'n roll between two guards. Guys didn't talk. The guy rides right down the middle, shoots a layup. What? You can't have those. That's a lack of toughness. You're not tough enough to stay engaged. Fumbling balls because you're waiting on contact. You can't. Catching the ball where you need to catch it. Who does that for us? If you're watching the game? Most of you don't watch it. Who is able to catch the ball where they need to catch it almost every time?

Q. P.J. Washington and what he did tonight?
JOHN CALIPARI: Yeah, Larry (Vaught) has been around a hundred years. The rest of you were so quiet because you don't know s---. Excuse me. And instead of saying the wrong name, you stay silent. Larry had the courage to step up and say P.J. He is tough. I just asked him, he has to take the leadership of this team. He has to do it now. He's the toughest guy. If a guy is not doing what he has to, you have the ability and the right now to tell him.

I asked the guys after, because I told them prior to the game, when I was at UMass my last year, the year we beat Kentucky. We played five guys. Two guards played 39 minutes, everybody else played 37. I told them that before the game. After the game, I said, You three or four that played the game every minute, how do you feel? I love it. Would you like to do this every game? Yes. So the rest of you can stay hurt. They're fine.

Guys would like to play every minute of the game. The zone, we did some half decent stuff. But we went man, they'd score five straight times. It was, like, you know, thank goodness I have Tony (Barbee) on the staff, taught me some zone stuff, and I have the courage to do it.

But we won a good game. I mean, folks, just understand, A&M lost three players. They were No. 5 in the country. They beat, I believe, West Virginia. They lost to Arizona. I watched that game. They could have beat Arizona easily. It was a touch-and-go game. They have three guys injured. I want you to understand, if we have three guys injured on this team, we're not winning. Now, me saying that, could have beaten us, could have beaten LSU. Billy is doing a heck of a job a little shorthanded. They're going to be fine. They'll be fine.