The last four matchups between the Gators men’s basketball team and the Texas A&M Aggies have been decided by an average margin of 2.25 points. Saturday’s affair shared the same nail-biting theme with neither team leading by more than two points in the game’s final minutes.
Despite leading for over 27 minutes in the game, the Gators found themselves trailing by one point with only seconds left on the clock.
Sophomore guard Riley Kugel made a backdoor cut and seemed to have a step on his defender for a go-ahead bucket.
The pass bounced off Kugel’s hands and landed in the Aggies’ possession. However, a turnover underneath UF’s basket gave Florida one last chance at victory.
Three missed shot opportunities from three Gator guards in five of the game’s winding seconds crushed Florida's hopes of a game-winning bucket and a five-game winning streak.
The Aggies (13-8, 4-4 SEC) defeated Florida (15-7, 5-4 SEC) 67-66 in College Station, Saturday.
The Aggies extended its defense to a three-quarter press to open the contest. They rushed the tempo of the Gators’ offense and threw them out of rhythm en route to an 11-0 run over three-plus minutes to start the game.
Florida found itself in a hole early. Aggies guard Solomon Washington kickstarted the run with a slashing layup and a tightly contested 3-point attempt that hit the bottom of the net.
UF head coach Todd Golden’s squad trailed 15-8 at the 15:01 mark in the first half. However, much like they have all season, the Gators’ backcourt caught fire.
After hitting seven shots from deep in the team’s last matchup against Kentucky, junior Walter Clayton Jr. halted the Aggies' momentum with his second 3-pointer of the game. Graduate student guard Zyon Pullin followed his lead on the next possession with a shifty stepback mid-range jumper to cut the Texas A&M lead to two points with 12:49 left in the half.
The depth of Florida’s bench put its talents on display. Golden’s bench accounted for 16 of UF’s 40 first-half points largely in part from the solid performance of Kugel.
He shot 3-for-4 from 3-point range in the first half. Kugel’s first make from deep sparked a 9-0 run for the Gators.
The defensive intensity cranked up for Florida midway through the first half. The Aggies went scoreless for over three minutes while Pullin capped off the Gators’ run after scoring two of his 12 first-half points after forcing a turnover and taking it down the court for a bucket.
With graduate student forward Tyrese Samuel picking up two early fouls, Golden went to a smaller lineup. The Florida guards were up to the challenge, scoring 34 of the team’s 40 total points in the first half.
Pullin led the way at halftime with a team-high 12 points with Kugel just behind him with 10.
As Florida’slead grew to as large as 13 with 1:27 left in the first half, Texas A&M desperately needed to stop the bleeding before the game got out of reach.
The Aggies ended the half on a 7-0 run to cut the UF lead to six heading into the break. Radford scored five straight points to close out the run and regained the momentum for his team as the first half concluded.
Although Clayton Jr., Pullin and Kugel led the way for UF’s offensive attack, it was junior guard Will Richard who came out firing from deep as the second half began.
The sharpshooter knocked down two 3-pointers in just over one minute. The 12-point Florida lead to open the second half forced Aggies head coach Buzz Williams to quickly call a timeout.
Williams’ squad came out of the timeout and went on a 6-0 run that brought the crowd to its feet.
With the Aggies’ student section screaming just behind the hoop, Pullin calmly quited the crowd after knocking down a smooth stepback jumper to end the A&M run and give the Gators a 48-40 lead with 16:02 left in the game.
Despite trailing for nearly the entire game, Williams’ team cranked up the intensity midway through the second half and started looking like the stronger team.
The Aggies upped the tempo on offense and began playing at an aggressive downhill rate with driving layups from Anderson Garcia and Jace Carter.
As the teams began to trade blows, Wade Taylor started heating up for the Aggies and converted a pullup jumper to cut the UF lead to 53-50.
Though the Gators offense operated throughout the contest, they went ice cold during a crucial 2:51 scoring drought. The Aggies took advantage and went on a 7-0 run led by two free throws and a stepback 3-pointer from Taylor IV.
After not leading since the first half, the Aggies' run combined with a 0-for-4 stretch from UF allowed the Aggies to regain a 57-55 lead at the 8:44 mark.
Samuel had a quiet performance on offense totaling just two points deep into the second half. However, he made back-to-back timely buckets to knot the score at 59 apiece with just over six minutes left.
The Aggies made the winning plays at the end when it mattered the most. Radford hit a crucial go-ahead bucket with multiple defenders draped over him to give his team a 67-66 lead with 35 seconds remaining.
Radford finished the game with a game-high 26 points and was a problem that the Gators could not solve on Saturday.
Texas A&M’s defense stepped up in the final minutes. The Aggies forced a turnover from Kugel, who had a chance to take the lead. Then, the Gators missed three shot attempts in the final seconds before time expired.
Pullin led the Gators with 18 points and eight assists. Kugel had a solid performance off of the bench with 12 points while shooting 4-for-8 from the field. Richard rounded out UF’s scoring attack with 12 points and three 3-pointers.
Florida came into the matchup coming off of back-to-back overtime victories. However, they were unable to force Saturday’s game into overtime in the final seconds of play.
Florida will be back in action Feb. 10 against No. 16 Auburn. Tip-off will be at 3:30 p.m. at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
Contact Max at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @MaxTuckerUF25.
Max Tucker is a senior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose to further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
