GAINESVILLE, FLA. -- With two of his teammates knocked out with injuries and two others ailing, Texas A&M forward Boots Radford picked his team up late Wednesday night by enduring some pain of his own.
With his team up 2 and less than 10 seconds to play, Radford took a charge from Florida guard Trey Bonham to force a critical turnover then hit one of two free throw attempts to clinch a 66-63 win for A&M (9-5, 1-0 SEC).
The win could be costly, as forward Henry Coleman left with a twisted ankle and guard Manny Obaseki was sidelined with a wrist injury. Forward Julius Marble and guard Andre Gordon fought through the final moments of the game with injuries of their own.
A&M literally trailed at the tipoff, after being penalized a technical free throw after forgetting their jerseys at the team hotel. Florida (7-7, 0-2 SEC) sank the free throw and led 4-2 early, but A&M led nearly all the rest of the way.
It looked like the Aggies might put the game away early, as a strong start from forward Julius Marble (17 points) and 9 turnovers by Florida helped the Aggies to a 34-23 lead at the half. But an immediate 8-0 run out of the locker room by the Gators and serious struggles by the Aggies to score from the floor made the game a slugfest the rest of the way.
Florida tied the game at 36 with 16:21 left in the game on a free throw by center Colin Castleton (14 points), but Radford (17 points) hit a 3-pointer 23 seconds later to give A&M the lead again.
Bonham, who scored a game-high 21 points, responded with a 3 of his own, but Marble converted a 3-point play on A&M's next possession. Radford added a layup to put the Aggies up 5. They would build their lead back to as much as 9, but a pair of long scoring droughts from the field allowed Florida to get back up off the mat again.
After Castleton hit a pair of free throws with 5:49 left, the Gators had clawed all the way back to take a 54-53 lead. But Andersson Garcia converted a layup at the end of A&M's next possession to take the lead back, and point guard Wade Taylor (17 points) scored 4 of A&M's next 5 points to keep A&M slightly ahead.
Castleton pulled the Gators back into a tie with 1:06 left after making a steal and taking the ball from beyond halfcourt to the basket for a layup. Taylor cooly responded by hitting a runner in the lane to give A&M a 65-63 lead with 46 seconds left.
The Aggie defense, which forced 20 turnovers on the night, stifled Florida for the remainder of the game, with A&M not even giving the Gators a good look at a tying shot as time ran out.
