Surging Texas A&M stuns No. 4 Auburn 67-62 in SEC tourney

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tyrece Radford scored 19 points and Quenton Jackson made five throws in the final minute Friday as Texas A&M beat fourth-ranked Auburn 67-62 in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, a loss that could wind up costing the Tigers a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Jackson also had a dunk and a key block late, finishing with 17 points to help Texas A&M (22-11) follow up an 83-80 overtime victory over Florida with another strong outing that enhanced the surging Aggies’ chances of landing at least an at-large berth in the NCAA field.

Jabari Smith led Auburn (27-5) with 17 points. Walker Kessler had 16 points, while Wendell Green Jr. made four long 3-pointers to fuel a late comeback that fell short when Jackson delivered a dunk coming out of a timeout and went 5 of 6 from the foul line down the stretch.

Auburn, ranked No. 1 much of the winter and the SEC regular-season champion, fell to 3-3 over its last six games.

Texas A&M, meanwhile, has recovered from a stretch in which it lost eight straight games following a 4-0 start to SEC play. The final loss in the skid was a 17-point setback at Auburn, and the Aggies have been on a mission to rescue their season ever since.

Friday’s win was the team’s sixth straight and its seventh in eight games since pulling out of the tailspin.

For the second straight day, the Aggies started strongly in building a double-digit halftime lead. But unlike Thursday, when Florida rallied to force overtime, Auburn was unable to fully overcome 16% shooting that left the Tigers trailing 37-21 at halftime.

Green made four long 3s from the same spot on the court to help Auburn get back in the game after missing seven of his first eight shots.

Henry Coleman had 16 points, helping Radford carry Texas A&M much of the afternoon while Jackson was riding the bench with three fouls.

BIG PICTURE

Texas A&M: Many felt the Aggies were likely to make the NCAA Tournament after Thursday’s win over Florida. Sending Auburn home early figures to lock up a berth.

Auburn: Entering the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers are going to have to get more consistent guard play. K.D. Johnson missed all 14 of his shots against Texas A&M. Green finished 5 of 12, but the Tigers trailed by 20 before he finally got going.

UP NEXT

Texas A&M: Faces either 15th-ranked Arkansas or LSU in Saturday’s semifinals.

Auburn: Awaits Sunday’s announcement on seedings for the NCAA Tournament.

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