Auburn pushes streak to 14
STARKVILLE, Miss. — The Auburn men’s basketball team is on such a roll, guard Bryce Brown is having a hard time keeping track of how many games the Tigers have won in a row.
“It’s 14, right?” Brown asked. “We’re just trying to enjoy this as much as possible.”
Indeed, it has been 14 straight wins for the No. 22 Tigers, and the latest, a 76-68 victory Saturday at Mississippi State, gave them sole possession of first place in the Southeastern Conference.
This one wasn’t easy. Brown led the Tigers with 23 points, while Mustapha Heron and Desean Murray each added 14 for Auburn (16-1, 4-0), which rallied from a 13-point deficit early in the second half.
The Tigers matched the program’s longest winning streak since the 1999-2000 season. Coach Bruce Pearl is proud of what his team has accomplished so far, but he is also trying to guard against complacency.
“We have 14 games left (in the regular season) — we could win them all or we could lose them all,” Pearl said. “I told the team, the team that wins this league might not be the best team in the league. It’s the team that can get ready to play night in and night out.”
Auburn started Saturday averaging more than 87 points per game but struggled to make shots in the opening half. Mississippi State (13-4, 1-3) led 35-24 at halftime with Auburn shooting just 26.7 percent from the field.
The Tigers recovered, hitting six of eight 3-point attempts to turn a 13-point deficit into an 11-point lead with six minutes left. Brown made several tough shots during the run, and Murray had steals on back-to-back possessions that led to four quick points.
Brown finished 5-for-8 from 3-point range.
“Bryce Brown took over offensively,” Pearl said. “He was feeling it.”
Quinndary Weatherspoon’s four-point play pulled the Bulldogs within 67-65 with 2:58 left, but they couldn’t get any closer.
“That is a very tough loss,” Mississippi State coach Ben Howland said, “and in this league it stings.”
Weatherspoon’s 14 points led Mississippi State, while freshman Abdul Ado had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Aric Holman had 11 points, and Nick Weatherspoon and Lamar Peters each scored 10.
› South Carolina 64, Georgia 57
ATHENS, Ga. — Frank Booker scored 17 points while making two late 3-pointers for South Carolina, and the Gamecocks withstood Georgia’s strong second-half start to beat the Bulldogs.
South Carolina (11-6, 2-3) won despite shooting a season-low 27.1 percent from the field. Chris Silva scored 14 points and Hassani Gravett had 11 as the Gamecocks took their first SEC road win of the season.
There were three ties, but Georgia (11-5, 2-3) never led while suffering its first home loss of the season after eight wins. It was the Bulldogs’ second straight loss.
Yante Maten led the Bulldogs with 25 points but had too little scoring help, especially from Georgia’s other frontline starters, Derek Ogbeide and freshman Rayshaun Hammonds, who combined for only three points.
› No. 21 Kentucky 74, Vanderbilt 67
NASHVILLE — Kevin Knox scored five straight points to put Kentucky ahead to stay as the Wildcats (14-3, 4-1) won their second straight.
With the score tied at 59, Knox hit a jumper with 3:48 left and sank the free throw that put Kentucky ahead for good.
Former Hamilton Heights standout Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Kentucky with 22 points. Knox finished with 17 and Hamadou Diallo and P.J. Washington each had 10.
Jeff Roberson led Vanderbilt (6-11, 1-4) with 20 points, while Saben Lee added 12. Vanderbilt played most of the second half without senior guard Matthew Fisher-Davis, who had an injured right shoulder.
› Ole Miss 78, Florida 72
OXFORD, Miss. — Bruce Stevens scored 22 points and Deandre Burnett added 20 with six assists as the Rebels (10-7, 3-2) handed the Gators their first conference loss of the season.
Ole Miss shot 41 percent from the floor, including 15-for-25 in the second half, outscored the Gators in the paint 32-22 and outrebounded them 44-35.
Keith Stone scored 23 points for Florida (12-5, 4-1). Jalen Hudson and Egor Koulechov scored 11 points apiece, with Koulechov grabbing 11 rebounds.
› Arkansas 65, Missouri 63
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Daniel Gafford made a pair of monster dunks late in the game as Arkansas snapped a threegame losing streak, but the win didn’t come easy.
The Razorbacks (12-5, 2-3) squandered an 18-point first-half lead before rallying late. Gafford, a freshman, was the difference with Arkansas trailing 59-55 with just less than four minutes to go. He slashed inside and scored on a layup and drew a foul, and his free throw pulled Arkansas within a point.
Twice guard Daryl Macon found Gafford inside for dunks, the last with less than a minute left to provide the final margin. Gafford led a balanced Arkansas scoring attack with 15 points. Jaylen Barford added 13, Anton Beard 11 and Darious Hall 10.
Jordan Barnett scored 12 for the Tigers (12-5, 5-2), who had two chances late to retake the lead but could not get a shot to fall.
› Alabama 74, LSU 66
BATON ROUGE, La. — Dazon Ingram went 10-for-10 from the foul line in an 18-point performance and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the Crimson Tide (11-6, 3-2).
Collin Sexton had seven rebounds and added 15 points, making all six of his free throws as Alabama finished 18-for-18 at the line.
LSU (11-5, 2-2) was led in scoring by Tremont Waters (19 points), Aaron Epps (14) and Duop Reath (12).