Solomon Washington poured in a career-high 18 points as No. 12 Texas A&M erased a 21-point deficit for a 73-69 victory over Iowa State in the third-place game at the ESPN Events Invitational on Sunday in Kissimmee, Fla.
A 16-0 run that covered the final 2:44 of the first half and nearly the first two minutes of the second fueled the impressive comeback as the Aggies (6-1) handed the Cyclones (5-2) their second straight loss.
Wade Taylor IV scored 14 points and Jace Carter, Hayden Hefner and Andersson Garcia finished with nine points apiece for the Aggies, who were playing without two of their top players in Henry Coleman III and Boots Radford.
Iowa State lost despite having four players in double figures, including Tamin Lipsey, who recorded his second career double-double (10 points, 14 rebounds) before fouling out.
Milan Momcilovic (15 points), Keshon Gilbert (14) and Curtis Jones (12) also hit double figures.
Texas A&M scored the final 11 points of the first half, closing the gap to 35-25, and the first five of the second half, the last of those points off Hefner’s 3-pointer that pulled the Aggies within five at 35-30 with 18:18 to go in regulation.
The Cyclones opened the second half 0-for-8 from the field and found themselves tied at 41-41 after a steal and layup by Taylor with 13:59 left.
Garcia hit a shot in the lane and drew a foul. He missed the free throw, but the Aggies led 45-43 with 12:30 to go.
Hefner’s 3-pointer with 5:20 extended the Texas A&M lead to 57-51, and the Aggies held on from there.
Momcilovic hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining to give Iowa State one last shot at a comeback down three points. The Aggies’ Eli Lawrence hit a free throw to close things out.
While Texas A&M missed its first 10 shots of the game from 3-point range, Iowa State’s fortunes from beyond the arc were much better. They hit five of their first 10, including a 3-pointer in the corner from Jones that made it 24-10 with 8:37 to go in the half.
Down 35-14 with under three minutes left in the half, the Aggies were re-energized after Washington’s two 3-pointers fueled an 11-0 run punctuated by Wildens Leveque’s putback as time expired.
–Field Level Media
