ALABAMA REBOUNDS after first SEC loss.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — John Petty Jr. wasn’t going to let another one slip away for Alabama.
The 11th-ranked Crimson Tide were coming off their first SEC loss of the season last Saturday and were locked in a tight game with pesky, determined South Carolina.
Behind Petty’s 20 points and 3 three-pointers, they came through, bouncing back from their loss to No. 10 Missouri with an 81-78 victory over the Gamecocks on Tuesday night.
“I was going to do whatever it took to get a win,” Petty said.
It took about every point he could score as the Gamecocks (5-8, 3-6) rallied from 78-70 down in the final four minutes to cut it to 79-78 with 2 seconds left.
But James Rojas preserved the win with two foul shots to keep Alabama’s best league season in more than six decades going. The Crimson Tide (16-5, 11-1) won their sixth in a row over the Gamecocks.
“We’ve got a special thing going this year and we’re real motivated,” Petty said.
With South Carolina trailing 79-76, Coach Frank Martin said he drew up a play with three options for a tying three-pointer. Instead, Jermaine Couisnard connected with Justin Minaya for an uncontested layup.
The Gamecocks were forced to foul Rojas, who made his free throws.
“Instead of running what we asked to run, we just kind of … no mental connection with the situation,” Martin said.
AJ Lawson led South Carolina with 21 points, making five three-pointers.
The Gamecocks had their chances. Wildens Leveque tied it at 59 with 11:11 left before Alabama went ahead for good on Jaden Shackelford’s layup on the following possession. Jahvon Quinerly extended the lead with a jumper.
The Gamecocks scratched back within 65-64 on Lawson’s three-pointer and a foul shot by Bryant. But Petty, the team leader in made three-pointers, hit another from behind the arc and South Carolina could not rally, losing for the third time in its past four games.
Alabama, which fell behind by 22 points to Missouri before losing 68-65, trailed South Carolina 16-5 with less than five minutes elapsed.
That’s when the longrange shooting of Petty and Joshua Primo got Alabama back in contention. Primo, a 6-6 freshman, had totaled seven points combined in his last three games with only one three-pointer. This time, he hit three of his team’s six three-pointers in the first 20 minutes and had 10 points at the break.
Quinerly finished with 13 points for the Tide while Petty added 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal.
NO. 13 TEXAS 80, KANSAS STATE 77
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Andrew Jones scored 24 points and No. 13 Texas held off Kansas State.
Greg Brown added 17 points and Courtney Ramey had 14 for the Longhorns (12-5, 6-4 Big 12), who snapped a three-game skid.
Mike McGuirl missed a three-point attempt from half court in the waning seconds for the Wildcats (5-16, 1-11), who have lost 11 in a row. Kansas State hasn’t won since Dec. 29.
Nijel Pack scored 22 points and McGuirl had 18 for the Wildcats.
Texas’ Matt Coleman III missed a dunk after a steal by Jones in the final minute but converted four consecutive free throws down the stretch.
The Longhorns tied a season high with 13 three-pointers, making their first six attempts and finishing at 56.5% from beyond the arc. Kansas State was also solid from three-point range, making 9 of 22 (40.9%), and both teams shot 26 for 51 (51%) overall.
NO. 14 WEST VIRGINIA 82, NO. 7. TEXAS TECH 71
LUBBOCK, Texas — Sean McNeil scored a career-high 26 points and No. 14 West Virginia finished a regular-season sweep of seventh-ranked Texas Tech with a victory over the Red Raiders.
The Mountaineers (14-5, 7-3 Big 12) won their third consecutive game and ended a four-game skid in Lubbock 15 days after a thrilling 88-87 win at home when Miles McBride hit the go-ahead jumper in the final seconds.
McNeil was 5 of 7 from three-point range, including one with the shot clock about to expire late in the second half.
McBride scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half coming off a career-best 31 points in a win over Kansas.
Mac McClung scored 17 points before fouling out for the Red Raiders (14-6, 6-5), who saw a three-game winning streak end a day after reaching their highest ranking of the season.
NO. 19 CREIGHTON 63, GEORGETOWN 48
WASHINGTON — Christian Bishop scored 17 points and No. 19 Creighton capitalized on Georgetown’s worst shooting performance in a decade.
Creighton (15-5, 11-4 Big East) avenged an 86-79 loss to the Hoyas in Omaha, Neb., last Wednesday and won for the fifth time in six games.
Georgetown (5-10, 3-7) had elevated its play while winning two of three since its three-week covid-19 pause. But against their third consecutive ranked opponent, the Hoyas looked more like the team that lost eight of its first 11 games.
The Bluejays never trailed and led by as many as 24 points at McDonough Arena. They weren’t overly sharp themselves, shooting 44.1% overall and 24% on three-pointers.
With the 6-7 Bishop making 8 of 11 shots and often scoring at will inside, Creighton held a 38-12 scoring advantage in the paint.
The Bluejays made a season-high 19 steals, with Mitch Ballock and Denzel Mahoney swiping the ball four times apiece. Georgetown, with 24 turnovers, committed more than 20 for the third time this season.
Georgetown shot 27.6%, its worst mark since making 25% of its field goals in a loss to Cincinnati on Feb. 23, 2011.
Ballock had 14 points and had four of the Bluejays’ six three-pointers. Damien Jefferson added 12 points.
SEC MEN
AUBURN 73, VANDERBILT 67
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sharife Cooper and Jamal Johnson scored 19 points apiece and Auburn held off Vanderbilt.
Cooper scored 18 of his 19 points in the second half in 14 minutes and finished 10 for 11 from the foul line.
Devan Cambridge’s three-pointer with 13:08 to play gave Auburn a 40-38 lead it never surrendered. Vanderbilt led 2523 at halftime.
Cambridge finished with 11 points and Allen Flanigan (Little Rock Parkview) 10. Jaylin Williams grabbed 10 rebounds for Auburn.
Dylan Disu scored 18 points for Vanderbilt (5-10, 1-8) and collared 10 rebounds, Jordan Wright scored 14 and Scotty Pippen Jr. 12 before fouling out with five minutes left.
The Tigers (11-10, 5-7) entered ranked 289th nationally among Division I teams in scoring defense, surrendering 76.2 points per game. Auburn had allowed at least 75 points in six consecutive games going 2-4 during that stretch. They’d also given up 75 or more in eight of their last nine games.