Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams struggled to contain his emotions when he thought about the last 48 hours guard Tyrece Radford had experienced.
Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams struggled to contain his emotions when he thought about the last 48 hours guard Tyrece Radford had experienced.
Saturday, the senior posted a team-high 26 points in the Aggies’ 67-66 win over Florida at Reed Arena, marking the A&M scoring threat’s first 20-plus point performance in five games.
It came a day after an arrest for allegedly evading police in a vehicle during an alleged incident in early December. In a statement through his attorney, Cameron Reynolds, Radford said that he was not guilty of the charge.
“He’s been through a lot,” Williams said. “As I told you [Friday], I think the world of him. Not because he’s a good player. I thought how he responded was otherworldly.”
Williams went on to defend his player against online rumors that have spread since the arrest.
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“The things that have been said are not right,” he said. “And whether I coach here or I don’t coach here, someday ‘Boots’ will be my age and I want to be able to still have a relationship based on Team Rule No. 1 [telling the truth] with him and with his family.”
Florida head coach Todd Golden said the Gators (15-7, 5-4) always expected Radford to play.
“He’s a really good player,” he said. “Obviously, a veteran that likes the big moment.”
The game had barely tipped off before Radford found his stride. A&M’s first four points came off Radford drives to the bucket, completed by acrobatic layups. The rest of his teammates followed with an 11-0 run that put the Aggies up by 7 in the opening five minutes.
However, A&M’s formula of driving to the basket to either make layups or get fouled went dry. In a 10-minute stretch through the latter portion of the first half, the Aggies (3-8, 4-4) managed 10 points to Florida’s 29, giving the Gators a 12-point lead just before the half.
Radford’s fast-break layup and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer narrowed the halftime score to 40-34 in Florida’s favor. The make from distance gave the Aggies a little hope.
“I think that was great momentum,” Radford said. “I think we went into halftime on a [7-0] run. So, that was really big for us. We preached these last couple days about the middle 8 [minutes] of the game that is really important. We emphasized that at practice and it showed tonight at the game.”
Radford continued to carry the offensive weight through the second half as leading scorer Wade Taylor IV remained in foul trouble. He picked up his fourth foul with seven minutes remaining and was forced to the bench until the final five minutes.
Radford sparked a 9-0 second-half run with another fast-break layup with 10 minutes to play that gave the Aggies the lead back.
The Aggies shot a weaker 37% from the field in the second half, but managed to supplement their scoring — just enough — with 11 second-half free throws. At times when scoring lulled, the Aggies weren’t getting the calls they have been accustomed to near the rim. When they did get to the line, it continued to be a struggle to hit at a good percentage. A&M finished the game 15-for-24 from the free throw line with 20 attempts coming in the second half.
“We need to continue to spend time and make it priority to make free throws,” Williams said.
For the seventh time in the last eight games, the Aggies found themselves in a one-possession game with under four minutes to play. A pair of Taylor free throws tied the game with just more than three minutes left, followed by a Florida jumper to put the Gators up by two on the next possession.
Radford ultimately delivered the game-winning points by converting a free throw and a floater in the lane with more than two minutes to play.
The Aggies forced a turnover with 19 seconds remaining, but Taylor took steps before inbounding the ball, a violation. The travel call resulted in a turnover and gave the Gators a chance to win it with the shot clock turned off, trailing 67-66.
“[Taylor] won’t do that again in his career,” Radford said. “That’s just one of those plays, but he did a good job of moving on to the next play and getting a stop and just locking in and that’s what really mattered.”
Florida missed two chances at the win, before Solomon Washington recovered a defensive rebound, sealing the victory.
Taylor followed Radford with 15 points and Washington with 10. Florida’s Zion Pullin posted 18, followed by Will Richard and Riley Kuegel’s 12.
For Radford’s teammates, his performance wasn’t anything new. It was just showing a level of consistency that has wavered at times through the season. For Radford, the last 48 hours were an exercise in trust with those he knows best.
“[Williams] believes in me and I believe in him. That’s the relationship we have — faith and trust,” Radford said. “Buzz is always going to be my guy for life. The last 24 hours is pretty much what we go through every day — believe in each other every day.”
NOTES — An overall-wearing Liberty University student named Liz Twiss from Kerrville drained a half-court shot during a second-half timeout, winning a $1,000 prize. Williams said after the game he would match the prize after hearing the commotion it caused during the timeout. Williams said he was trying to explain to his team that they had no timeouts left when the banked shot went through the net and Reed Arena exploded. “Come see me, I’ll match the gift from Texas A&M. Surely, we can do better than [$1,000],” he joked.