Tuesday, February 7
Bryan-College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
17-7,9-2SEC
83
vs
78
Auburn
17-7,7-4SEC
1
2
F
Auburn
36
42
78
Texas A&M
37
46
83
Photo by: Craig Bisacre/Texas A&M Athletics
Resilient Aggies Earn Season Sweep Over Auburn Tigers
Feb 07, 2023 | Men's Basketball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M junior forward Julius Marble poured in a career-high 20 points, including three clutch buckets down the stretch, to lead the Aggies to a hard-fought 83-78 win over the Auburn Tigers in front of a crowd of 10,248 fans on Tuesday at Reed Arena.
Marble, a transfer from Michigan State, turned a two-point deficit with four minutes remaining into a four-point lead that the Aggies would not relinquish with a layup and two close-range jumpers. Marble's clutch points rewarded a stifling Aggie defense that limited the Tigers to four points in the final four minutes of the game.
The bout between the Tigers and the Aggies saw the Tigers race to a double-digit lead in the first half and an eight-point lead in the second, but the Aggies always rose to the challenge. After falling behind by eight at the 15:36 mark, the Aggies slowly reeled in the Tigers and took a one-point advantage on Tyrece Radford's 3-pointer at 7:42 to set up Marble's heroics. The Aggies' biggest lead of the game was the five-point margin of victory.
The two teams went blow-for-blow for the first half of the initial stanza with the Aggies leading 14-13 at the 10-minute mark. Auburn surged over the next four minutes with a 14-1 run that led to a 12-point Tiger bulge at 6:28. But the Aggies didn't blink as they began chipping away at the Tiger lead, eventually taking the lead at 1:04 on an Andre Gordon 3-pointer. The Aggies finished the half on a 15-4 run that gave them a hard-fought 37-36 lead at the break.
Sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV led all scorers with 22 points as the 6-foot dynamo drained four 3-pointers and was a clutch 8-of-9 from the free throw line while dishing out seven assists. With Taylor leading the way, the Aggies, already the SEC's free throw leaders, connected on a season-high 31 free throws on 39 attempts.
Other Aggies in double figures were Andersson Garcia with a season-high 11 points and Tyrece Radford with 10 points. Marble also led the team with seven rebounds but four other Aggies chipped in five or more boards. Freshman Solomon Washington was huge in the win as he came off the bench to contribute energy and fire, as well as six points and five rebounds.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Buzz Williams
On the game overall…
"A lot of things have to go right to beat a team that's as good as they are. So many things that are not in the stat sheet have to be the separator. I thought they were better than us, tougher than us, more physical than us and more aggressive than us the first 14 minutes of the game. I thought that changed the last six minutes of the first half. The numbers were okay – we had four turkeys in the first half. But the energy and all of the adjectives I typically use to describe our group, I didn't think we were firing on all cylinders. I thought Solo [Solomon Washington] was tremendous and Andy [Andersson Garcia] arguably was the player of the game again. His efficiency is phenomenal. You just have to have so many winning plays to have a chance. Auburn made play after play after play, so it took everything that we had to have a chance."
On the ability to get to the free throw line…
"We shot 79.5%. If you look at our offensive numbers, the numbers are skewed by free throws makes and offensive rebound percentage. Our offense is okay, but what aids it is our ability to make free throws."
Freshman Forward Solomon Washington
On the being prepared when his number was called…
"That was unexpected, but Coach Buzz does a good job of making sure we're ready whenever our number is called and I was ready in that moment"
On the momentum-changing held ball…
"I feel like it was the game changer. Andy (Garcia) and I being able to come in and bringing that type of energy. That's what turned our switch on."
Junior Forward Julius Marble
On the lift that Wade Taylor IV provides…
"It's huge. He's our leader. Four runs the show. He did amazing job. He was a huge factor to get us going."
On how ability to score when the offense wasn't clicking…
"I was just seeing a bigger hoop, I guess. I knew we needed those shots and I knew I could make them. I just had to do my job. I credit the guys for getting me in the right spots. The coaches ran plays for me in spots where I'm comfortable in and where it is easy for me to score."
Texas A&M Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 83, Auburn 78
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
TEAM NOTES
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Dexter Dennis
Andersson Garcia
Andre Gordon
Julius Marble
Tyrece Radford
Wade Taylor IV
Solomon Washington
Marble, a transfer from Michigan State, turned a two-point deficit with four minutes remaining into a four-point lead that the Aggies would not relinquish with a layup and two close-range jumpers. Marble's clutch points rewarded a stifling Aggie defense that limited the Tigers to four points in the final four minutes of the game.
The bout between the Tigers and the Aggies saw the Tigers race to a double-digit lead in the first half and an eight-point lead in the second, but the Aggies always rose to the challenge. After falling behind by eight at the 15:36 mark, the Aggies slowly reeled in the Tigers and took a one-point advantage on Tyrece Radford's 3-pointer at 7:42 to set up Marble's heroics. The Aggies' biggest lead of the game was the five-point margin of victory.
The two teams went blow-for-blow for the first half of the initial stanza with the Aggies leading 14-13 at the 10-minute mark. Auburn surged over the next four minutes with a 14-1 run that led to a 12-point Tiger bulge at 6:28. But the Aggies didn't blink as they began chipping away at the Tiger lead, eventually taking the lead at 1:04 on an Andre Gordon 3-pointer. The Aggies finished the half on a 15-4 run that gave them a hard-fought 37-36 lead at the break.
Sophomore guard Wade Taylor IV led all scorers with 22 points as the 6-foot dynamo drained four 3-pointers and was a clutch 8-of-9 from the free throw line while dishing out seven assists. With Taylor leading the way, the Aggies, already the SEC's free throw leaders, connected on a season-high 31 free throws on 39 attempts.
Other Aggies in double figures were Andersson Garcia with a season-high 11 points and Tyrece Radford with 10 points. Marble also led the team with seven rebounds but four other Aggies chipped in five or more boards. Freshman Solomon Washington was huge in the win as he came off the bench to contribute energy and fire, as well as six points and five rebounds.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Buzz Williams
On the game overall…
"A lot of things have to go right to beat a team that's as good as they are. So many things that are not in the stat sheet have to be the separator. I thought they were better than us, tougher than us, more physical than us and more aggressive than us the first 14 minutes of the game. I thought that changed the last six minutes of the first half. The numbers were okay – we had four turkeys in the first half. But the energy and all of the adjectives I typically use to describe our group, I didn't think we were firing on all cylinders. I thought Solo [Solomon Washington] was tremendous and Andy [Andersson Garcia] arguably was the player of the game again. His efficiency is phenomenal. You just have to have so many winning plays to have a chance. Auburn made play after play after play, so it took everything that we had to have a chance."
On the ability to get to the free throw line…
"We shot 79.5%. If you look at our offensive numbers, the numbers are skewed by free throws makes and offensive rebound percentage. Our offense is okay, but what aids it is our ability to make free throws."
Freshman Forward Solomon Washington
On the being prepared when his number was called…
"That was unexpected, but Coach Buzz does a good job of making sure we're ready whenever our number is called and I was ready in that moment"
On the momentum-changing held ball…
"I feel like it was the game changer. Andy (Garcia) and I being able to come in and bringing that type of energy. That's what turned our switch on."
Junior Forward Julius Marble
On the lift that Wade Taylor IV provides…
"It's huge. He's our leader. Four runs the show. He did amazing job. He was a huge factor to get us going."
On how ability to score when the offense wasn't clicking…
"I was just seeing a bigger hoop, I guess. I knew we needed those shots and I knew I could make them. I just had to do my job. I credit the guys for getting me in the right spots. The coaches ran plays for me in spots where I'm comfortable in and where it is easy for me to score."
Texas A&M Men's Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas A&M 83, Auburn 78
Reed Arena (Bryan-College Station, Texas)
RECORDS & SERIES NOTES
- Texas A&M defeated the Auburn Tigers, 83-79, Tuesday night at Reed Arena.
- The Aggies improve to 17-7 overall, 9-2 in SEC action and 12-1 at home.
- A&M is 5-1 against Auburn under head coach Buzz Williams as the Aggies lead the all-time series 15-6.
- With tonight's victory, the Aggies secured the season sweep over the Tigers after previously beating them on the road on Jan. 25.
TEAM NOTES
- Four players finished in double figures for the eighth time this season. The last time this occurred was at Kentucky on Jan. 21, 2023.
- Two players recorded 20 or more points for the first time since Dec. 27, 2022 against Northwestern State.
- The Aggies had a season-high in both free throws made (31) and free throw attempts (39).
- Texas A&M finished with a 38-34 rebounding advantage. The Aggies have earned a rebounding advantage in 11 of the past 13 games.
- The Aggie bench finished with 22 points, limiting Auburn's bench to 10.
- Texas A&M used the starting lineup combination of Henry Coleman III, Dexter Dennis, Julius Marble, Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV for the 15th time this season (12-3).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Dexter Dennis
- Finished with nine points, six rebounds and a block.
Andersson Garcia
- Tallied a season-high 11 points while finishing 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
- Recorded double-digit points for the first time this season and the third of his career.
- Hauled in six rebounds and had a block.
Andre Gordon
- Drained a three and went 2-of-2 from the free throw line to finish with five points.
Julius Marble
- Registered a career-high 20 points and collected a team-high seven rebounds.
- Logged double figures for the 13th time this season and 21st of his career.
- Led the team in rebounds for the seventh time in his career.
Tyrece Radford
- Scored 10 points after finishing 3-of-6 from the field, 1-of-2 from three and 3-of-4 from the free throw line.
- Tallied double digit points for the sixth consecutive game, the 14th time this season and the 73rd of his career.
- Finished with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Wade Taylor IV
- Recorded a game-high 22 points.
- Registered double figures for the 18th time this season and 33rd of his career.
- Led the team in assists with seven for the 16th time this season and 28th time in his career.
- Led the team in points for the ninth time this season and 13th of his career.
- Marked the sixth time he's scored 20 or more points this season and the seventh time of his career.
- Swiped two steals and had a rebound.
Solomon Washington
- Matched his career high in blocks with two.
- Scored six points, going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and collected five rebounds.
Team Stats
AUB
TA&M
FG%
.469
.426
3FG%
.375
.333
FT%
.643
.795
RB
34
38
TO
10
12
STL
10
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
8
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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