No. 20 Texas A&M beats No. 21 Creighton 77-73, hands Bluejays third straight loss
Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV (4) drives the ball against Creighton guard Pop Isaacs (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. Credit: AP/David Becker
LAS VEGAS — Wade Taylor IV scored 18 points to lead No. 20 Texas A&M past No. 21 Creighton, 77-73, in the Players Era Festival on Wednesday.
Henry Coleman added 17 points, and Andersson Garcia and Solomon Washington each scored 10 for the Aggies (5-2).
Pop Isaacs led all scorers with 25 points with five 3-pointers as the Bluejays (4-3) dropped their third straight game. Jackson McAndrew added 16 points, and Steven Ashworth scored 14 points.
Takeaways
Texas A&M: The Aggies outscored the Bluejays 42-20 in the paint despite the presence of Creighton's 7-foot-1 center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who had five blocks. Texas A&M also won the rebound battle 48-37.
Creighton: Despite Ashworth returning from an injury sustained in Friday's 74-63 loss to Nebraska, the Bluejays lost their third straight game. Creighton also lost 71-53 to San Diego State on Tuesday.
Key moment
Washington drove to the basket with 35 seconds remaining, made the basket and was fouled by Kalkbrenner to put the Aggies up 71-70. He made the free throw, and the Aggies led 72-70. After Kalkbrenner cut the lead to to 72-71 by hitting one of two free throws, Texas A&M's Coleman beat the press for a dunk with 16 seconds left, and the Bluejays never challenged after that.
Key stat
The Aggies bench outscored Creighton's 20-2, with Garcia's 10 points leading the way. The lone points for the Bluejays came from Fredrick King.
Texas A&M guard Zhuric Phelps (1) reacts after he was called for a foul against Creighton during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Las Vegas. Credit: AP/David Becker
Up next
Texas A&M will play Rutgers in the fifth place game Saturday, while Creighton will play Notre Dame in the seventh place game.
