Wade Taylor breaks down game-winning shot vs. Missouri

The No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies stunned No. 15 Missouri 67-64 on the road when Wade Taylor knocked down a game-winning 3-point basket with 1.8 seconds left in the game.

After the game, the first thing Taylor did was thank his teammates and coaches for putting him in the position to make that shot in the first place.

“Coming out of the timeout, I talked to one of our players, Jaelyn Lee, before we came out of the huddle and he told me ‘the next one’s going in.’ Because I missed the two previous ones,” Taylor said. “… I got a good look at it and thank God that I made it.”

Lee did not see any action for the Aggies on Saturday as he’s typically a reserve having appeared in just six games this season. However, the encouragement he showed Taylor’s teammate gave him in that moment may have been the confidence boost he needed to make the go-ahead bucket.

Taylor said he was trying to slip through the defense to find some separation during the game-winning play. He found just enough to bury a 3-pointer with just moments left in regulation.

He finished the day with 15 points on 5 of 14 shooting. Taylor had missed six of his first eight 3-point attempts during the afternoon, and made the one that counted the most.

“[Shoutout] to my teammates and coaches for telling me to win the game, and to keep shooting,” Taylor continued. “Because one of them are going to fall. And it did. I’m excited and thankful to be here.”

The victory propels the Aggies to 18-5 on the season, including a 7-3 record in SEC play through 10 games. Texas A&M is tied for third place in the current conference standings after the weekend slate, sharing the record with Florida.

Still, just four games seperate the top spot in the conference from 10th place, and with one month remaining in the regular season, one loss could be the difference between a bye into the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, and playing on one of the first two days.

The Aggies will be back at home this Tuesday for a late-night matchup inside Reed Arena against Georgia after a two-game road trip to start February. The Bulldogs have won two of their last three games coming into the mid-week matchup.

Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET live on the SEC Network.