Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Vols hold off Rebels for a key road win
SEC men’s standings
NO. 19 TENNESSEE 73, MISSISSIPPI 65
OXFORD, Miss. — The Tennessee Vols got off to a fast start and held on late for a key road victory.
Admiral Schofield scored 23 points, Jordan Bowden scored 15, Lamonte Turner scored 13 and No. 19 Tennessee earned a 73-65 victory over Mississippi on Saturday.
The Volunteers (21-7, 11-5 SEC) jumped out to a 29-9 lead in the first 10 minutes and held off a rally by Ole Miss in the second half.
“I think this time of year you are obviously trying to build momentum and trying to get better in every area,” Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes said.
“Being at the end of February, right now you’d like to think your team understands the importance of momentum and the way you need to come out when you have a lead.”
Neither team shot well from the floor, with Tennessee shooting 39 percent and Ole Miss shooting 34 percent.
The Rebels ( 12-17, 5-11) struggled from long distance. Ole Miss shot 4 percent (1-for23) from three-point range. Terence Davis, who was 1 for 7 on threes, connected in the second half.
Breein Tyree led the Rebels with 17 points, Bruce Stevens scored 14 and Davis finished with 13.
This was Tony Madlock’s second game as the interim head coach at Ole Miss after Andy Kennedy stepped down a week ago today after 12 seasons. The Rebels ended a seven-game losing streak with a win at Missouri on Tuesday.
“You talk about it and you don’t want it to be a part of the game, but when you don’t make shots, some of the hustle plays and some of the defensive efforts just don’t work,” Madlock said. “We didn’t make enough shots early to kind of get us going defensively.”
Tennessee’s bench outscored Ole Miss’ 21-15. The Rebels scored 40 points in the paint to the Volunteers’ 28 and outrebounded them 47-43.
GEORGIA 93, LSU 82
ATHENS, Ga. — Yante Maten had 27 points and 11 rebounds, freshman Rayshaun Hammonds scored a career-high 21 and Georgia beat LSU.
Juwan Parker added 15 points as the Bulldogs (16-12, 7-9 SEC) overcame an abysmal three-point performance in the first half by dominating the boards Auburn............................. 12-4 Tennessee........................ 11-5 Mississippi State .............. 9-7 Kentucky........................... 9-7 Arkansas ................... 9-7 Florida............................... 9-7 Missouri ........................... 8-8 Alabama ........................... 8-8 Texas A&M ....................... 7-9 Georgia ............................. 7-9 LSU................................... 7-9 South Carolina ................ 6-10 Mississippi ...................... 5-11 Vanderbilt ........................ 5-11
SATURDAY’S GAMES ALL
24-5 21-7 21-8 20-9 20-9 18-11 18-11 17-11 18-11 16-12 16-12 15-14 12-17 11-18
Arkansas 76, Alabama 73 Tennessee 73, Mississippi 65 Georgia 93, LSU 82
Miss. State 72, South Carolina 68, OT Texas A&M 89, Vanderbilt 81 Kentucky 88, Missouri 66 Florida 72, Auburn 66
and forcing LSU to lean too much on its guards to score from the perimeter.
Freshman Tremont Waters finished with 25 points and Skylar Mays added 20 for LSU (16-12, 7-9). The Tigers have lost six consecutive SEC road games.
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 offensively and letting LSU pull within single digits in the closing minute.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 72, SOUTH CAROLINA 68, OT
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Lamar Peters had 19 points, including five in overtime, to lead Mississippi State past South Carolina.
Tyson Carter and Quinndary Weatherspoon had 13 points apiece for Mississippi State ( 21- 8, 9- 7 SEC). 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 victory for Mississippi State.
Peters also had five assists and four steals. He was 6 of 16 from the field and was 5 of 6 at the free throw line.
Hassani Gravett had 19 points to lead South Carolina (15-14, 6-10) and added five assists and four steals. Gravett’s three-pointer at the end of the second half sent the game into overtime. Chris Silva had 11 points and 12 boards for South Carolina despite battling foul trouble.
TEXAS A&M 89, VANDERBILT 81 CONF.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tyler Davis scored 22 points, T.J. Starks had 18 and Texas A&M ended its three-game losing streak with a victory at Vanderbilt.
The Aggies enjoyed one of their best shooting games of the season with a 59 percent clip from the floor. The Aggies (18-11, 7-9 SEC) used their height advantage to outscore the Commodores 38-26 in the paint.
D. J. Hogg scored 16 points and Admon Gilder had 11 for Texas A&M, which won its first game in five tries at Memorial Gym.
Riley LaChance led last- place Vanderbilt ( 11- 18, 5- 11) with 23 points after a slow start. He made six three-pointers and Jeff Roberson added 21 points.