On Saturday, the Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team beat SEC rival Georgia 70-56 to snap a five-game losing streak. It was the longest skid this season and since 2022, when A&M lost eight in a row.
It's been a season of ups and downs for guard Tyrece Radford and the Aggies (16-13, 7-9 SEC). They were projected to be in the NCAA Tournament just a couple of weeks ago, but after losing five in a row, those hopes are all but gone.
After the win over the Bulldogs (15-14, 5-11 SEC) on Saturday, Radford spoke with SEC Network about the team's mindset.
“Just as a team. As a unit. We just came together. Don’t give up. It ain’t over. So, just keep fighting. Get in the ring. Coach Buzz [Williams] used to preach that and he still preaches that. Three years, four years straight. That’s what we live by. Just keep fighting,” Radford said.
Radford also said the losing streak was just something they had to work through.
“Most of my guys that came back,” the Aggies point guard said. “We’ve been through this. It’s difficult. We’ve been through most of it. The previous years, we had high hopes, you know. We were right in the same situation, you know. Year one, lose I think eight games in a row. Didn’t let that discourage us.
“Didn’t let that bring us down this year. Adversity. It’s the same thing, just a different year. It’s still adversity. We’ve just gotta come together. Like I said, we came together, team meeting, whatever it takes. Just to get everybody’s mindset on the same thing. I kept saying to them. It’s not over. Keep fighting.”
Wade Taylor IV has been the team's leading scorer all season but didn't have a great game on Saturday with just four points on 1-of-8 shooting from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc. Radford indicated Taylor sometimes contributes in other ways not reflected on the stats sheet.
“Even though, as you said, Wade didn’t have the game that he wanted,” the Louisiana native said. “He still led as a leader. He was vocal. That helped big time. You know. It started at the beginning of the season. No matter if he had a good game or if he had a bad game. That’s the type of person that he is. He’s always that leader.”
The Aggies will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs (19-10, 8-8 SEC) on Wednesday at Reed Arena in College Station in the penultimate game of the regular season at 8 p.m. CT.
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