Wildcats take fight out of Rebels
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tyler Ulis had 20 points and 10 assists to help No. 10 Kentucky beat Mississippi 83-61 on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
Ulis set the tone for the blowout, scoring seven of Kentucky’s first nine points.
Kentucky (11-2) ended the Rebels’ seven-game winning streak.
Jamal Murray made four of Kentucky’s seven three-pointers and had 18 points. Marcus Lee added 13.
Stefan Moody led the Rebels (10-3) with 23 points, scoring 15 in the second half. Sebastian Saiz followed with 12.
The Wildcats held a 14-11 advantage with 10:29 remaining in the first half and put the game away with a 23-3 run, pushing it to 37-14 with 3:40 remaining in the first half.
Murray made two three-pointers during the decisive spurt and finished with 11 points in the opening half.
Kentucky led 46-22 at the break and didn’t let up in the second half.
Ole Miss struggled from the field, especially in the first half, shooting 23 percent (6 for 26). The Rebels fared better in the second half and finished 20 of 50 from the floor for 40 percent.
Kentucky junior guard Dominique Hawkins left the game with 13:55 remaining and didn’t return after tweaking his ankle while going up for a rebound. Hawkins scored a career-high 13 points against No. 18 Louisville in his last outing. Hawkins played three minutes and didn’t score against the Rebels.
Isaiah Briscoe returned to the Kentucky lineup after tweaking his ankle during pregame warmups prior to the Wildcats’ victory over Louisville. He finished with six points.
Kentucky is at LSU on Tuesday night, while Ole Miss hosts Alabama on Thursday night.
In other games involving SEC men Saturday, Bryce Brown and Kareem Canty scored 20 points apiece to lead Auburn to an 83-77 victory over
Tennessee in both teams’ SEC opener. Brown scored 17 of his points in the second half — including four three-pointers — to help the Tigers (75) snap a two-game losing streak. Tyler Harris added 19 points and 13 rebounds for Auburn. Kevin Punter and Admiral Schofield helped keep the Volunteers (7-6) close with big games. Punter, the SEC’s No. 2 scorer, had 31 points with 6 rebounds and 4 assists. But he and much of his team struggled from threepoint range — going 3 for 28. Punter, a 41 percent three-point shooter, missed each of his five attempts. Schofield had 22 points and 8 rebounds while Robert Hubbs III fouled out with 13 points. The Vols had won two in a row but struggled to put away East Tennessee State and Tennessee State. … Retin Obasohan scored 23 points to lead all scorers and had four steals as Alabama beat
Norfolk State 68-49. Obasohan ended a streak of three games in which he failed to score more than 12 points after he began the year scoring 17 or more points in five of his first eight games. Arthur Edwards scored 15 points with three assists and Riley Norris scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Crimson Tide. The Crimson Tide (9-3) led by five points at halftime, but used a 15-5 run at the beginning of the second half to take control of the game as Alabama outscored the Spartans (510) 35-21 in the second half. Jeff Short led the Spartans, scoring 16 points after shooting 4-7 on three-pointers. He was the only Spartan to score more than 10 points. Norfolk State jumped out to an early lead as Alabama missed layups, dunks and jumpers, but once the Crimson Tide began shooting beyond the arc the momentum shifted. Alabama scored all of its first nine points shooting three-pointers and finished the first half shooting more behind the arc than in front of it. Alabama finished the game connecting on 11 of 24 three-point attempts while the Spartans finished 6 for 22. Edwards led all players connecting on 5 of 9 three-point attempts. … Wes Clark’s career-high 22 points helped
Missouri wrap up its nonconference schedule with a victory, beating Savannah
State 81-50. Clark finished 9-of-10 shooting and had 12 points in the first half on a perfect 5 of 5 from the field. His previous best was 21 points in a 6863 loss to Illinois Dec. 23. Missouri (76) took a 41-25 lead after a lopsided first half in which it shot 75 percent from the field while Savannah State (4-7) shot only 25 percent. Missouri made 13 of 14 shots over the course of a 13-minute sequence. Savannah State’s leading scorer Christopher Martin was held to four points on 1-of-12 shooting. Martin was averaging 13.2 points, having scored 10 or more points in nine of 10 games. … KeVaughn Allen (North Little Rock) scored 18 points, John Egbunu notched his third double-double of the season and Florida beat Georgia 7763 in the SEC opener for both teams. Devin Robinson chipped in 13 points for the Gators (9-4) before leaving with a bruised chest late in the first half. He did not return. Yante Maten led Georgia with 20 points, his sixth 20-plus-point outing in the last eight games. Kenny Gaines added 13. Georgia trailed by 16 early before whittling it down to 50-44 after the break. Florida responded, though, by pushing the ball inside and getting to the free-throw line. The Gators finished 24 of 41 from the stripe. … Ben Simmons scored 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as LSU beat Vanderbilt 90-82 in the SEC opener for both teams. Simmons scored 18 in each half, and Keith Hornsby added 23 points as the Tigers (8-5) picked up their fourth victory in five games. Craig Victor II added 11 points for the Tigers. Vanderbilt (8-5) came in leading the SEC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 61.8 points, and third nationally holding opponents to 35.8 percent shooting. With 7-foot-1 junior Luke Kornet still out with a torn MCL, the Commodores struggled to slow down Simmons.