Richard scores 25 points to help No. 3 Florida hand No. 12 Texas A&M its 4th consecutive loss, 89-70
Richard scores 25 points to help No. 3 Florida hand No. 12 Texas A&M its 4th consecutive loss, 89-70
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Will Richard made six 3-pointers and scored 25 points, Thomas Haugh added 17 points and No. 3 Florida handed 12th-ranked Texas A&M a fourth consecutive loss, 89-70 on Saturday night.
Alijah Martin had 14 points for the Gators, who bounced back from a midweek loss at unranked Georgia and moved a step closer to securing a double bye in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in two weeks.
Texas A&M (20-9, 9-7 SEC) could fall out of the AP Top 25 college basketball poll. Florida (25-4, 12-4), meanwhile, improved to 14-1 at home this season.
Florida trailed by six early but started hitting from long range to close the gap and build a double-digit lead. Richard had the hot hand and scored 17 points in the second half, thanks mostly to five 3s. His 3 with 4:52 remaining was a dagger.
The Gators made 14 of 33 from behind the arc, nine more than the Aggies.
Zhuric Phelps led Texas A&M with 16 points. Pharrel Payne added 14.
Takeaways
Texas A&M: The Aggies missed 10 of their final 12 shots from 3-point range and missed nine free throws.
Florida: Despite the loss at Georgia, the Gators bounced back and improved their chances of being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Key moment
Florida’s Alex Condon, who wore a mouthpiece after having two teeth moved back into place earlier in the week, had consecutive dunks with roughly 7 minutes to play to help the Gators pull away.
Key stat
Walter Clayton Jr. extended his school-record streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 51, now 10 more than second-place Michael Frazier II.
Up next
Texas A&M hosts top-ranked Auburn on Tuesday; Florida plays at No. 6 Alabama the following night.
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This story has been updated to correct Pharrel Payne’s point total to 14 instead of 16.
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By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
