BATON ROUGE –Wade Taylor IV became Texas A&M's new scoring king while leading the Aggies to a 66-52 win over the LSU Tigers on Saturday afternoon at the Maravich Assembly Center.
Taylor, a graduate guard from Dallas, needed just eight points to reach Bernard King's 22-year old scoring record and he had matched the record less than four minutes into game and grabbed sole possession with a 3-pointer at the 14:49 mark of the first half.
It was the Aggies' third-straight victory on the Tigers' home court, which was a program first. The win improved the Maroon & White's overall record to 22-9 and 11-7 in SEC play, and clinched the No. 5 seed in next week's SEC Tournament in Nashville. It's the fourth straight season that the Aggies have entered the SEC Tournament with at least a two-game winning streak.
Taylor finished the game with 17 points to put his career scoring total to 1,999 to surpass King's record set from 1999-2003. In the SEC record book, Taylor needs just a single point to become the 28th 2,000-point scorer in league history. Additionally, Taylor hit 4-of-4 from the free throw line to equal King's school standard of 269 free throws in conference games. In 69 career SEC games, Taylor hit 86.5% of his free throws, which bettered Wendell Mitchell's old record of 83.2% from 2019-20 (minimum of 100 FT attempts). Taylor's point total vs. the LSU made him the third Aggie to surpass 1,000 points in conference games, joining King (1,123) and John Beasley (1,007 from 1964-66). It was Taylor's 138th game at Texas A&M, which matches Donald Sloan's four-year record for career games played.
The Aggies had to rally to secure the win as a 17-0 first-half run by the Tigers turned a 10-point lead into a seven-point deficit over a six-minute span. The Tigers increased the lead to nine points with 5:39 remaining before the Aggies fought back to go the locker room down just two at 32-30.
In the second half, the Aggies took control of the boards and the game as they doubled up the Tigers in rebounds, 28-13. Texas A&M took its first lead since the first half less than four minutes into the final 20 and never trailed again. The Aggies kept at least a 10-point lead for the final 10 minutes of the game.
Joining Taylor in double figures was fellow graduate Henry Coleman III, who tallied his second double-double of the season and 17th of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds while producing a team-high +21 plus/minus in 25 minutes. Fellow graduate Andersson Garcia matched Coleman's 10 rebounds while hitting all six shots he took – two from the field and four from the line. With two offensive rebounds, Garcia joined Coleman, Tyler Davis, Kourtney Roberson and Joseph Jones in Texas A&M's 300 Offensive Rebounds Club. Garcia has 301 in 101 games at Texas A&M.
The Texas A&M defense limited the Tigers to just 52 points and 30.0% from the field, including 22.2 percent (6-of-27) in the decisive second half. The 52 points were the lowest allowed in a SEC road game since limiting Vanderbilt to 50 points on Jan. 11, 2020. The Tigers were held to only 20 points in the stifling second half, which was the lowest total since holding Mississippi State to 18 on Jan. 30 2013. For the game, the Aggies earned a 42-27 advantage on the boards, including 14-7 on the offensive glass. The Maroon & White outscored LSU, 34-12, in the paint and had a 17-9 advantage in second-chance points.
Texas A&M All-Time Leading Scorers
SEC All-Time Leading Scorers
Taylor, a graduate guard from Dallas, needed just eight points to reach Bernard King's 22-year old scoring record and he had matched the record less than four minutes into game and grabbed sole possession with a 3-pointer at the 14:49 mark of the first half.
It was the Aggies' third-straight victory on the Tigers' home court, which was a program first. The win improved the Maroon & White's overall record to 22-9 and 11-7 in SEC play, and clinched the No. 5 seed in next week's SEC Tournament in Nashville. It's the fourth straight season that the Aggies have entered the SEC Tournament with at least a two-game winning streak.
Taylor finished the game with 17 points to put his career scoring total to 1,999 to surpass King's record set from 1999-2003. In the SEC record book, Taylor needs just a single point to become the 28th 2,000-point scorer in league history. Additionally, Taylor hit 4-of-4 from the free throw line to equal King's school standard of 269 free throws in conference games. In 69 career SEC games, Taylor hit 86.5% of his free throws, which bettered Wendell Mitchell's old record of 83.2% from 2019-20 (minimum of 100 FT attempts). Taylor's point total vs. the LSU made him the third Aggie to surpass 1,000 points in conference games, joining King (1,123) and John Beasley (1,007 from 1964-66). It was Taylor's 138th game at Texas A&M, which matches Donald Sloan's four-year record for career games played.
The Aggies had to rally to secure the win as a 17-0 first-half run by the Tigers turned a 10-point lead into a seven-point deficit over a six-minute span. The Tigers increased the lead to nine points with 5:39 remaining before the Aggies fought back to go the locker room down just two at 32-30.
In the second half, the Aggies took control of the boards and the game as they doubled up the Tigers in rebounds, 28-13. Texas A&M took its first lead since the first half less than four minutes into the final 20 and never trailed again. The Aggies kept at least a 10-point lead for the final 10 minutes of the game.
Joining Taylor in double figures was fellow graduate Henry Coleman III, who tallied his second double-double of the season and 17th of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds while producing a team-high +21 plus/minus in 25 minutes. Fellow graduate Andersson Garcia matched Coleman's 10 rebounds while hitting all six shots he took – two from the field and four from the line. With two offensive rebounds, Garcia joined Coleman, Tyler Davis, Kourtney Roberson and Joseph Jones in Texas A&M's 300 Offensive Rebounds Club. Garcia has 301 in 101 games at Texas A&M.
The Texas A&M defense limited the Tigers to just 52 points and 30.0% from the field, including 22.2 percent (6-of-27) in the decisive second half. The 52 points were the lowest allowed in a SEC road game since limiting Vanderbilt to 50 points on Jan. 11, 2020. The Tigers were held to only 20 points in the stifling second half, which was the lowest total since holding Mississippi State to 18 on Jan. 30 2013. For the game, the Aggies earned a 42-27 advantage on the boards, including 14-7 on the offensive glass. The Maroon & White outscored LSU, 34-12, in the paint and had a 17-9 advantage in second-chance points.
Texas A&M All-Time Leading Scorers
| Rk. | Player | Years | Points |
| 1 | Wade Taylor IV | 2021-Pres. | 1,999 |
| 2 | Bernard King | 1999-03 | 1,990 |
| 3 | Vernon Smith | 1977-81 | 1,778 |
| 4 | Joseph Jones | 2004-08 | 1,679 |
| 5 | Acie Law IV | 2003-07 | 1,669 |
| 6 | John Beasley | 1963-66 | 1,594 |
| 7 | Winston Crite | 1983-87 | 1,576 |
| 8 | Josh Carter | 2005-09 | 1,566 |
| 9 | Donald Sloan | 2006-10 | 1,522 |
| 10 | Rynn Wright | 1977-81 | 1,495 |
SEC All-Time Leading Scorers
| Rk. | Player, School | Points | First Season | Last Season |
| 1 | Pete Maravich, Louisiana State | 3667 | 1967-68 | 1969-70 |
| 2 | Allan Houston, Tennessee | 2801 | 1989-90 | 1992-93 |
| 3 | Vernon Maxwell, Florida | 2450 | 1984-85 | 1987-88 |
| 4 | John Stroud, Ole Miss | 2328 | 1976-77 | 1979-80 |
| 5 | Chuck Person, Auburn | 2311 | 1982-83 | 1985-86 |
| 6 | Ernie Grunfeld, Tennessee | 2249 | 1973-74 | 1976-77 |
| 7 | Tony White, Tennessee | 2219 | 1983-84 | 1986-87 |
| 8 | Reggie King, Alabama | 2168 | 1975-76 | 1978-79 |
| 9 | Jeff Malone, Mississippi State | 2142 | 1979-80 | 1982-83 |
| 10 | Dan Issel, Kentucky | 2138 | 1967-68 | 1969-70 |
| 11 | Chris Lofton, Tennessee | 2131 | 2004-05 | 2007-08 |
| 12 | Mike Mitchell, Auburn | 2123 | 1974-75 | 1977-78 |
| 13 | B.J. McKie, South Carolina | 2119 | 1995-96 | 1998-99 |
| 14 | Litterial Green, Georgia | 2111 | 1988-89 | 1991-92 |
| 15 | Reggie Johnson, Tennessee | 2103 | 1976-77 | 1979-80 |
| 16 | Ronnie Williams, Florida | 2086 | 1980-81 | 1983-84 |
| 17 | Kenny Walker, Kentucky | 2080 | 1982-83 | 1985-86 |
| 18 | Joe Harvell, Ole Miss | 2078 | 1989-90 | 1992-93 |
| 19 | Rudy Macklin, Louisiana State | 2078 | 1976-77 | 1980-81 |
| 20 | Wesley Person, Auburn | 2066 | 1990-91 | 1993-94 |
| 21 | Dale Ellis, Tennessee | 2065 | 1979-80 | 1982-83 |
| 22 | Jack Givens, Kentucky | 2038 | 1974-75 | 1977-78 |
| 23 | Kenny Boynton, Florida | 2033 | 2009-10 | 2012-13 |
| 24 | Bailey Howell, Mississippi State | 2030 | 1956-57 | 1958-59 |
| 25 | Chris Warren, Ole Miss | 2021 | 2007-08 | 2010-11 |
| 26 | Quinndary Weatherspoon, Mississippi State | 2012 | 2015-16 | 2018-19 |
| 27 | Shan Foster, Vanderbilt | 2011 | 2004-05 | 2007-08 |
| 28 | Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M | 1999 | 2021-22 | 2024-25 |