Wade Taylor IV scores 15 points and No. 22 Texas A&M beats Wake Forest 57-44
Texas A&M forward Pharrel Payne (21) has his shot contested by Wake Forest guard Cameron Hildreth (6) and forward Efton Reid III (4) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in College Station, Texas. Credit: AP/Sam Craft
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Wade Taylor IV scored 15 points and Pharrel Payne and Henry Coleman III each added 10 as No. 22 Texas A&M beat Wake Forest 57-44 on Tuesday night.
Hunter Sallis led Wake Forest with a game-high 19 points, and Davin Cosby added 11 points.
Texas A&M (7-2) shot 39% from the floor (19 of 49) and Wake Forest (7-3) shot 28% (17 of 60) from the floor.
The Aggies led 47-42 lead with 6:46 remaining when Taylor stole the ball and Coleman finished the possession with a dunk to give the Aggies to an insurmountable seven-point lead.
Wake Forest also led by seven points a little more than seven minutes into the game before falling behind by halftime. Texas A&M's Andersson Garcia grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds.
Takeaways
Texas A&M: The usually-hustling Aggies appeared a bit lethargic after playing three games in the previous week, including an 81-77 victory over Rutgers on Saturday, in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Texas A&M, which won its third consecutive game, took comfort in playing its first home game in 13 days.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons were unable to carry over the momentum from a 57-51 victory over Minnesota on Friday in the third-place game of the ESPN Events Invitational in Kissimmee, Florida. Sallis got back on track, however, after finishing 1 of 11 from the floor against Minnesota.
Texas A&M guard Zhuric Phelps (1) swings on the rim after dunking the ball against Wake Forest during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in College Station, Texas. Credit: AP/Sam Craft
Key moment
Taylor banked a 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining in the first half to lift the Aggies to a 29-26 lead at the break.
Key stat
The Aggies made 14 of 17 of their free throws for 82%, 14% better than their average entering the game.
Up next
The Aggies face Texas Tech on Sunday in Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena in a neutral-site match between the old Southwest Conference and Big 12 foes. The Demon Deacons host Boston College on Saturday in their ACC opener.
