Bama erupts to rout UGA
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alex Reese opened Alabama’s scoring with a 3-pointer, and Herb Jones followed quickly with another. It was only the beginning of a torrid shooting performance Saturday for the 11th-ranked Crimson Tide.
Jones scored 17 of his career-high 21 points in the first half, and Alabama routed Georgia 115-82 in the program’s most prolific scoring performance in a Southeastern Conference game. The program’s previous high in an SEC game was 113 points on Jan. 17, 1976, against LSU.
“It’s pretty crazy. Nobody shot more than nine times, and we scored 115,” said Alabama coach Nate Oats, whose team started the day with a 3-1/2-game lead in the league standings and now has four games remaining in the regular season. “It helps when you make 3s and you’ve got a lot of guys that can make 3s.”
Freshman Josh Primo scored 19 points, all after halftime, for the Tide (17-5, 12-1), who had five players score in double figures and made 18 of 30 3-point attempts divvied among eight players. Jaden Shackelford added 18 points, Jahvon Quinerly 16 and John Petty Jr. 13.
The Bulldogs (12-8, 5-8) have dropped the first two of a three-game string of games against the SEC’s ranked teams, but freshman K.D. Johnson had a big week as he scored 24 points against Alabama, eclipsing his season high from three days earlier at No. 16 Tennessee. Sahvir Wheeler added 16 points for the Bulldogs, who host No. 10 Missouri on Tuesday, while Toumani Camara had 12 and Tye Fagan 11. › Arkansas 86, No. 10 Missouri 81, OT
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Justin Smith, who missed the Razorbacks’ loss to Missouri last month with an injury, scored 19 points to lead a balanced attack in an overtime win.
Moses Moody scored 15 and Jalen Tate added 14 for Arkansas (16-5, 8-4), while Missouri (13-5, 6-5) was led by Xavier Pinson’s 23 points and Dru Smith’s 15.
Missouri standout forward Jeremiah Tilmon missed the game because of a death in the family. Tilmon had 25 points and 11 rebounds in the teams’ previous meeting, and without him, the Tigers leaned heavily on 3-pointers, shooting 13-of-32 from beyond the arc.
Arkansas did much of its damage by making 20 of 23 free throws.
Missouri’s Parker Braun sent the game into OT when he scored a reverse layup off a nice feed from Dru Smith to tie the game at 73 and then blocked a shot by Devonte Davis on the other end. Davis got his revenge in overtime when he scored the go-ahead basket with 33 seconds left.
› Kentucky 82, Auburn 80
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Isaiah Jackson had 18 points and added 11 rebounds, and Brandon Boston Jr. made five 3-pointers in a 17-point performance as Kentucky (6-13, 5-8) ended a four-game losing streak by edging the Tigers (11-11, 5-8).
Kentucky trailed the entire first half but built a 14-point lead early in the second before Auburn rallied to tie before Davion Mintz snapped the deadlock with 33 seconds left. The Wildcats then went 2-of-4 from the line, while the Tigers missed their final four shots.
Auburn’s JT Thor was fouled on a 3-point try with 1.1 seconds remaining and made all three free throws, but Kentucky completed a long inbounds pass to end the game. Thor was 5-of-6 outside the arc as he totaled 24 points with nine rebounds, and Allen Flanigan added 23 points.
› Vanderbilt 72, Mississippi State 51
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Maxwell Evans scored 20 points, Scotty Pippen Jr. added 18 and Vanderbilt hit 10 3-pointers in the first half to jump-start its road win against the Bulldogs (11-11, 5-8).
Clevon Brown added 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting for the Commodores (6-10, 2-8), who were tied at 28 with just more than five minutes to go in the first half before putting together a 17-0 run with Brown, Evans and Pippen combining for 14 points. Dylan Disu contributed one of the three 3-pointers the Commodores hit as they went 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line in the run.
Disu finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, Pippen had nine assists and Evans added five steals. Iverson Molinar paced the Bulldogs with 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
› Ole Miss 81, South Carolina 74
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Devontae Shuler scored a career-high 31 points in a return to his native South Carolina, and his shot block and resulting pair of free throws with nine seconds left helped Ole Miss (12-8, 6-6) stave off the Gamecocks (5-9, 3-7).
Shuler was 8-for-13 for 13 points in the first half to notch his 10th straight game in double figures, and he made 13 of 16 free throws to go with seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Romello White added 14 points and KJ Buffen 12 for Ole Miss.
Lawson led South Carolina with 22 points, making 4 of 12 attempts from 3-point range. Wildens Leveque added 13 points with three blocked shots, and Trae Hannibal scored six of his 12 points in the final 3:23.