Sahvir Wheeler scored 12 points and Davion Mintz added 10, including a crucial free throw in the final seconds, as No. 12 Kentucky came from behind and outlasted Texas A&M 64-58 on Wednesday in College Station, Texas.
After struggling to find consistency throughout the game, the Wildcats (15-3, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) pulled in front at 58-54 on TyTy Washington Jr.’s jumper with 4:48 to play.
Texas A&M closed within two points on Tyrece Radford’s layup two minutes later but would never get any closer. Kentucky hit 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch as the Aggies missed six of their final seven shots from the floor.
Oscar Tshiebwe added 14 rebounds for the Wildcats, who have won four consecutive games.
Texas A&M’s Henry Coleman III led all scorers with 17 points. Aaron Cash grabbed 11 rebounds for the Aggies (15-3, 4-1), who had an eight-game winning streak snapped. Texas A&M finished 1 of 22 from 3-point range and made just 5 of 13 free throws.
The Aggies were up 16-12 after nine minutes of play and stoked their advantage with a 9-0 run that was capped by a 3-pointer Hassan Diarra at the 7:26 mark of the first quarter. Kentucky went scoreless for almost four minutes, missing all five of its shots from the floor and two free throws in that stretch.
Texas A&M eventually stretched its lead to 13 points after a layup by Quenton Jackson with 5:57 to play in the first half before the Wildcats produced an 8-2 run over the final 1:51 to pull to within 35-30 at the half.
After the Aggies did almost everything well in the first half, the Wildcats slowly got back into the game and took their first lead, at 49-48, on a layup by Kellan Grady with 9 minutes to play. Texas A&M immediately went back in front when Wade Taylor IV’s layup ended an almost five-minute stretch without a field goal, setting the stage for the furious finish.
–Field Level Media