Texas A&M holds on, upsets No. 21 Tennessee in Knoxville despite late rally

Texas A&M led No. 21 Tennessee by as many as 19 points during Thursday’s matchup in the SEC. The Volunteers cut it to as little as two points in the final minutes of regulation, but the Aggies held on for the upset on Rocky Top 82-74.

The dagger came with the Aggies leading 78-74 during the final minute. Ny’Ceara Pryor found Lemyah Hylton in the corner for a 3-pointer to seal the victory.

Pryor’s game-sealing assist was her 10th of the evening. She also led the way for the Aggies with 22 points on 9-16 shooting. Forward Fatmata Janneh was impressive, scoring 17 points on 7-9 shooting and 12 rebounds. She also had four assists and went 2-3 from deep. Hylton rounded out the double-figure scoring efforts with 12 points.

The victory improves Texas A&M to 11-11 on the season having won their last two matchups. Meanwhile, the loss most likely knocks the Volunteers out of the AP Top 25. They stand at 16-9 overall with an 8-5 record vs. the SEC.

The Vols have now lost their last three games. Dating back to Jan. 29, Tennessee is 2-6 in their last eight matchups. After the game, Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell shouldered the blame for this skid.

“I don’t think we’re doing much of anything, and so I don’t have anything to say about that,” Caldwell said. “I think that all of our errors are, at the end of the day, on me, and I think that’s understood. I think that comes understood with being in this responsibility.”

Tennessee has three games left on its regular season schedule — all against ranked opponents. First up will be a Sunday afternoon road trip to No. 11 Oklahoma before heading to Baton Rouge to take on the No. 7 LSU Tigers on Jan. 26. The Volunteers round out the regular season on March 1 at home vs. in-state rival, the No. 5 Vanderbilt Commodores.

Tip-off between the Vols and Sooners is set for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. ESPN will air the national broadcast.