KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Solomon Washington had 18 points, Wade Taylor IV scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half and No. 12 Texas A&M rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat Iowa State 73-69 in the third-place game at the ESPN Events Invitational on Sunday night.
Taylor, who averaged 29 points in the first two games of the tourney, hit a jumper from the foul line to make it 66-60 with 1:18 to play.
“I just admire our guys so much,” Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “I knew we were bad in the first half in many respects. I did not completely realize we were down 21.”
Texas A&M forward Henry Coleman III, who left Friday’s loss to No. 19 Florida Atlantic late in the first half with an ankle injury, didn’t play. Guard Tyrece Radford, limited to 18 minutes against the Owls due to breathing issues, also sat out.
Iowa State (5-2) got 15 points from Milan Momcilovic. Keshon Gilbert scored 14 points and Tamin Lipsey had 10 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.
“I don’t have a great answer for it,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said of the Cyclones’ for 9-for-33 shooting in the second half. “We were really confident making those shots in the first half. We’ve got to stay the course and continue it in the second half.”
After trailing by 21 points late in the first half, Wildens Leveque’s layup tied it before Andersson Garcia’s basket gave Texas A&M (6-1) its first lead, at 45-43 with 12 1/2 minutes left.
Hayden Hefner hit a 3-pointer to complete an 16-0 run as Texas A&M pulled within 35-30 early in the second half.
“I thought we were true to our identity,” Williams said. “I thought we played incredibly hard. I thought we were unselfish. I thought we were connected. I thought we played with phenomenal fight.”
Curtis Jones’ long-range jumper and layup put Iowa State up 35-14 with 5 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half. He finished with 12 points.
Washington made a pair of 3s to help the Aggies get within 35-25 at the half. He left the game with 8 minutes left in the opening session after landing hard on the floor, but returned three minutes later.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State: Lipsey is the lone returning fulltime starter on a squad that includes six true freshmen.
Texas A&M: Will drop in the polls after going 2-1 at the invitational, but should remain in the Top 25.
NEGATIVE NUMBERS
Iowa State: Went 2 of 19 from 3-point range in the second half after making 7 of 15 in the first.
Texas A&M: Was 15 of 25 from the foul line and had 13 turnovers, including eight by Taylor. The Aggies averaged 8.5 turnovers entering the game.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: Plays Friday night at DePaul as part of the Big East/Big 12 Battle.
Texas A&M: Takes part in the ACC/SEC Challenge at Virginia on Wednesday night.
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