Wade Taylor IV poured in 24 points, Manny Obaseki put his team ahead for good with a fastbreak dunk and No. 20 Texas A&M staved off Rutgers 81-77 to take fifth place at the Players Era Festival on Saturday in Las Vegas.
In a game with seven ties and 10 lead changes, the Aggies (6-2) took a 78-77 lead when Solomon Washington pulled out a defensive rebound and heaved it up court for Obaseki to convert a two-handed slam with 2:12 to play.
Rutgers lost a pass out of bounds, and Taylor made two free throws for a three-point game. Rutgers freshman star Dylan Harper went to the rim in the final seconds but had his shot blocked by Washington.
Washington had 11 points, five rebounds and four blocks for Texas A&M. Henry Coleman III and Obaseki also finished with 11 points.
For Rutgers (5-3), Ace Bailey led the way with 24 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Jeremiah Williams scored 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting and Harper had 18 points. Centers Emmanuel Ogbole and Lathan Sommerville each fouled out.
Texas A&M scored nine of the last 12 points of the game after trailing by as many as nine earlier in the half.
A 10-0 run early in the first half, capped by Washington’s three-point play, gave the Aggies a 17-9 lead. Rutgers ensured Texas A&M would not lead by more than eight, as Bailey (13) and Harper (eight) combined for 21 of Rutgers’ 34 first-half points.
After Sommerville put up five straight points for Rutgers, the Aggies made three free throws in the final minute for a 40-34 halftime lead.
Rutgers’ 13-0 sprint early in the second half flipped the lead to 47-42 in its favor. Harper made a 3-pointer to get things going and Williams scored three straight buckets — a dunk in transition, an easy layup and an offensive rebound and putback.
Bailey’s second 3-pointer at 12:51 put the Scarlet Knights up 63-54, but Texas A&M scored the next eight points. Then, down 65-62, Taylor made the Aggies’ first 3-pointer of the game to tie it at the 8:21 mark. His team had missed its first 11 tries from long range.
Texas A&M won despite going 2 of 15 from the arc (Rutgers was 6 for 26) and being outrebounded 42-35.
–Field Level Media
