NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Playing the SEC Tournament in Nashville may have given the Vanderbilt Commodores a home court advantage, but Bridgestone Arena was Texas A&M's gym Saturday.
Wade Taylor led all scorers with 25 points as the Aggies (25-8, 17-3 SEC) enjoyed a red-hot shooting performance to march past Vanderbilt (20-14, 12-9 SEC) 87-75. A&M shot 60% from the field for the game and hit nearly 70% of its shots in the first half as they rolled up a lead that reached as much as 27 points.
Forward Julius Marble, who had been in a severe shooting slump, hit A&M's first two shots of the game and his first five overall as he scored 13 total points. Guard Boots Radford (16 points) added a 3-pointer to give A&M an immediate 7-0 lead.
Getting strong starts from Radford and Marble may not have been a surprise, but the sharp shooting from other Aggies showed early on that the second seed in the tournament was on its game. At one point, A&M made 11 straight shots from the field, with guard Andre Gordon (5 points) and forward Andersson Garcia (5 points) both burying 3s during the Aggies' early onslaught.
While A&M couldn't miss, Vanderbilt had trouble getting so much as a shot up. The Commodores had more turnoverrs (12) than baskets (10) in the first half and were called for three shot clock violations.
The Aggies took full advantage, hitting 20 of 29 shots (69%) in the first half, including 7 of 12 3-pointers. A&M had 13 fast break points, including four dunks, in the first 20 minutes. As a result, the Aggies were up 49-25 at intermission.
A&M got their lead up to as much as 27 when Marble's hit a jumper to make the score 52-25 with 18:15 to go in the game. The Commodores, likely fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives, then went on a 12-1 run to cut the Aggie lead to 16. Riding a hot shooting spurt from forward Julius Wright (17 points), Vandy was able to narrow the A&M lead to 12 with 11:50 left.
That's when Taylor took over.
The first team All-SEC selection scored A&M's next 7 points, including a 3-pointer. After Radford found a cutting Marble for a dunk, A&M's lead was back up to 19 with 10:22 left.
Taylor wasn't finished; he would hit a long 2-pointer, a spinning layup in the lane and a pair of free throws as he scored 7 of the Aggies' next 10, with a 3-pointer from Hayden Hefner (6 points) mixed in. A&M's lead was back up to 23 with 7:54 to go and the game was essentially out of reach.
The Commodores were able to make one final run, getting to with 11 with 2 minutes to go, but forward Dexter Dennis (9 points) hit a short-range jumper on the baseline with 1:09 left to kill any hopes of a Vanderbilt miracle.
With the win, the Aggies will play for the SEC Tournament championship for the second consecutive season. A&M will face top seed Alabama, which it beat 67-61 in College Station a week ago, in the title game.
Game notes
The notoriously poor-3-point shooting Aggies hit 53%, or 10 of 19, of their attempts Saturday. Vanderbilt hit 9 of 22 (41%).
The Aggies made 31-52 shots for the game, for exactly 60%. Vandy hit 54% of theirs, making 28-52.
A&M, who shoots and makes more free throws than any other SEC team, had a dreadful game at the line. The Aggies made only 15 of 25 free throws, while Vandy made 10 of 15.
The Aggies out-rebounded Vanderbilt 30 to 21 and grabbed more offensive rebounds, 8-4.
A&M, which usually dominates in the paint, was outscored in the paint 36-26 Saturday.
The Aggies forced 17 Vanderbilt turnovers while turning over the ball 12 times.
