A late Aggie surge was not enough after the Florida defense blanked Danuel House in scoring for the first time all season, as the Texas A&M men’s basketball team lost on the road, 66-62.
The junior guard finished 0-for-10 (0-for-6 from three), but ended his night early in the closing minutes with an apparent ankle injury. House tallied 15 points in A&M’s last matchup against Auburn, but struggled in that matchup as well, shooting just 6-for-20 after ending the first half 3-for-13 from the field.
The Aggies (20-9, 11-6 SEC) roared out to a 10-0 lead in the opening four minutes, but the tide turned when Gators head coach Billy Donovan got a spark off his bench from Dorian Finney-Smith. When Finney-Smith entered the game, Florida surged to a 14-4 run, evening the contest.
Play was back and forth thereafter, and the Aggies kept it within five through the first eight minutes of the second half. Alex Murphy then scored seven straight points, which notched the Gators biggest advantage at the time at 37-31 after a dunk with 11:31 left to play, making it 37-31. Florida continued its run and eventually stretched the lead to 16, 47-31.
The Gators (15-15, 8-9 SEC) late struggles at the free throw line cost them, as a 58-42 Aggie deficit with 3:13 to play was eventually cut to a one-possession game.
With 13 ticks on the clock, Florida missed 10 of its last 15 free throws, while Jordan Green registered two from the penalty stripe to cut the game to three. On the possession before, Alex Caruso hit his third 3-pointer of the night to put his Aggies within 62-58. Caruso led the Aggies in scoring with 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting.
In the end, Florida made three of four free throws in the final 13 seconds to put the game on ice, and the Aggies were unable to get anything going offensively in the last few possessions.
Freshman Peyton Allen didn’t see the court, staying in College Station with a reported stomach virus. Filling his role was Davonte Fitzgerald, who totaled five points.
A&M heads back home for its season finale against Alabama at 1 p.m. Saturday with hopes to avenge a loss to the Crimson Tide in the SEC opener.