Tyrece Radford shares how Texas A&M fought off Alabama rally

Texas A&M did something only one other SEC has accomplished this season on Saturday: beat Alabama. It didn’t come without a challenge, however, as the Aggies had to hold off a late run from the Crimson Tide to secure the 67-51 victory.

Despite entering halftime down 32-22, Alabama battled back to take a 54-51 lead with 4:46 to go following a 3-pointer from Jahvon Quinerly. A&M called a timeout and immediately responded with a 3-pointer of its own from Wade Taylor to tie the game once again. The Aggies never trailed again after that on their way to the win.

Speaking postgame, guard Tyrece Radford explained the mindset A&M had coming out of that timeout to fight back.

“We just continued to play as a team,” he said. “Keep that faith in one another. Believe in one another. We knew eventually the game was going to get tight. We just stuck together and was able to come out of the war.”

Radford finished second on the team with 21 points in addition to four assists and three steals. Taylor led the Aggies with 28 points. Texas A&M overcame a 18-of-53 (34%) shooting performance with an impressive defensive effort, forcing 18 Alabama turnovers and holding the Crimson Tide to 22-of-65 (33.8%) from the floor.

With the win, Texas A&M (23-8, 15-3 SEC) became the second SEC team to beat Alabama (26-5, 16-2) this season along with Tennessee. The Crimson Tide still ended the year with the regular season conference title, while the Aggies finished one game behind them in second place. Saturday’s loss also caused Alabama to drop from the No. 1 overall seed according to ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi.

Both teams will receive a bye for the first two rounds of the SEC Tournament, which is set to begin Wednesday in Nashville. The Aggies will face the winner between Auburn and Arkansas. Texas A&M and Alabama could meet again in the conference championship game on Sunday if they make it through their first two games of the tournament.