Maten big again as Dogs top LSU
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia senior forward Yante Maten was proud to move into second place on the program’s career scoring list.
“It means a lot,” he said, “just being able to represent my school the way I’ve tried to for the past four years and just having the opportunity to make plays night in and night out.”
Maten had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman Rayshaun Hammonds scored a career-high 21 as the Bulldogs beat LSU 93-82 in a Southeastern Conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Stegeman Coliseum.
Juwan Parker added 15 points as Georgia (16-12, 7-9) overcame an abysmal 3-point performance in the first half by dominating the boards and forcing LSU to lean too much on its guards to score from the perimeter.
LSU freshman Tremont Waters finished with 25 points and Skylar Mays added 20 for the Tigers (16-12, 7-9), who have lost six straight road games in league play in their first season under Will Wade, a former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga coach.
Maten, with 1,797 career points, passed Alec Kessler and Vern Fleming to take the second spot on Georgia’s career scoring list. Litterial Green is the Bulldogs’ career scoring leader with 2,111.
Maten also moved past Charles Claxton for the fifth spot in rebounding, but Bulldogs coach Mark Fox talked about “the quality of person” when asked about his senior star after the win.
“He’s got tremendous character,” Fox said. “He’s as good a person as I’ve been associated with. We’ve had a lot of great kids. He’s an absolute stud of a person.”
Georgia, with a season high in points, has won three of four entering the last week of the regular season, but the Bulldogs showed why they’ve been so fickle this year, leading by 22 early in the second half before falling flat on offense and letting LSU pull within single digits in the closing minute.
“At one time we had three freshmen on the court, and those guys are going to make some errors, but we’re starting to trust them more,” Fox said. “It’s just fortunate we had the lead so we could play through those mistakes.”
Georgia missed 14 of 16 attempts beyond the arc in the first half but kept possessions alive with 12 offensive rebounds. Derek Ogbeide put an accent on the performance at the buzzer, with his one-handed putback giving the Bulldogs an 11-point lead after Turtle Jackson missed for the fourth time.
The lead swelled to 19 in the first two minutes of the second half as Maten hit a jumper and grabbed a defensive rebound while falling out of bounds. He fed the ball to Jackson, who quickly assisted on Teshaun Hightower’s 3.
Maten, the SEC’s leading scorer and third-leading rebounder this season, had his way with LSU for the second time this year. The senior forward scored 21 points and hit the game-winning basket with five seconds to go on Jan. 16 in Baton Rouge, La. The Tigers had no means of containing him this time either, getting outrebounded 49-34.
“They imposed their will on the backboard and in the paint, and we just weren’t able to compensate for that,” Wade said. “It’s pretty simple. That’s all there was to it.”›
Florida 72, No. 12 Auburn 66
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — KeVaughn Allen bounced back from his first scoreless game in more than three years with 24 points, including two huge 3-pointers in the closing minutes to lead the Gators to the upset win.
Jalen Hudson added 19 points for Florida (18-11, 9-7), including a pivotal threepoint play with 26.8 seconds remaining. Chris Chiozza hit Hudson with a bounce pass on a back-door cut. He got fouled making the layup and then sank the free throw to put Florida up 69-66.
Jared Harper and Bryce Brown missed off-balance 3-pointers for Auburn (24-5, 12-4) in the final minute, and the Gators closed it out from the foul line.
Mustapha Heron led the Tigers with 22 points.
› Kentucky 88, Missouri 66
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kevin Knox had 21 points and former Hamilton Heights standout Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 15 as Kentucky made 10 3-pointers and shot 55 percent to blow out Missouri.
The Wildcats (20-9, 9-7) outscored the Tigers by 10 points over the final 4 1/2 minutes before halftime for a 44-32 lead. Several more spurts stretched the advantage to as many as 25 as they avenged a 69-60 loss three weeks ago.
Kassius Robertson had 26 points, including six 3s, and Jordan Barnett scored 11 points for Missouri (18-11, 8-8.
› Mississippi State 72, South Carolina 68, OT
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Lamar Peters had 19 points, including five in the extra period, and Tyson Carter and Quinndary Weatherspoon scored 13 apiece to lead Mississippi State (21-8, 9-7).
Nick Weatherspoon also had 10 points for the Bulldogs before fouling out in the second half. Quinndary Weatherspoon hit two free throws with 6.8 seconds left in overtime to clinch the win.
Hassani Gravett had 19 points to lead South Carolina (15-14, 6-10) and added five assists and four steals. His 3-pointer at the end of the second half sent the game into overtime. Chris Silva had 11 points and 12 boards despite battling foul trouble, and Felipe Haase and Maik Kotsaw also had 11 points for South Carolina.
› Texas A&M 89, Vanderbilt 81
NASHVILLE — Tyler Davis scored 22 points, T.J. Starks 18, D.J. Hogg 16 and Admon Gilder 11 as the Aggies (18-11, 7-9) ended their three-game losing streak by winning for the first time in five tries at Memorial Gymnasium.
Texas A&M built a 24-point lead in the second half before Vanderbilt (11-18, 5-11) narrowed the gap to four in the final minute.
The Commodores’ Riley LaChance finished with 23 points after a slow start — he made six 3-pointers — and Jeff Roberson added 21 points. Freshman teammate Saben Lee almost had a triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
› Arkansas 76, Alabama 73
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Daryl Macon scored 17 points and made two free throws with 12 seconds left to lift the Razorbacks (20-9, 9-7).
C.J. Jones added 13 points for Arkansas, while Daniel Gafford and Dustin Thomas each had 11 and Jaylen Barford 10.
The Crimson Tide (17-12, 8-8) trailed almost the entire game on the way to their third straight loss. Braxton Key started for Alabama after coming off the bench the past six games and scored 16.