Last-second basket goes Auburn’s way

NO. 11 AUBURN 91, NO. 18 LSU 90 OT

AUBURN, Ala. — J’Von McCormick’s floater bounced high off the rim before finally going through the net, one last bit of suspense in a game and a performance filled with it.

McCormick’s basket with 0.1 second left in overtime lifted No. 11 Auburn to a 91-90 victory over No. 18 LSU in a SEC showdown Saturday.

“I felt like it came off my hands pretty good,” said McCormick, who is from New Orleans. “I work on those shots all the time, so it was just nothing to me.”

Before that, he made three consecutive three-pointers in a 20-second span to help force overtime.

Auburn (21-2, 8-2) rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit and moved into a tie with LSU (17-6, 8-2) for the league lead. It’s Auburn’s third overtime win in the last four games and this one took 18 three-pointers.

McCormick drove toward the basket in the final moments for the game-winner. He followed his coach’s instructions of not pulling up.

“It’s a simple matter of J’Von’s the quickest guy on the floor,” Auburn Coach Bruce Pearl said. “J’Von was smart enough not to settle for that jump shot.”

It came after Skylar Mays and Emmitt Williams led an LSU comeback from a quick seven-point deficit in the extra period.

Mays scored on two free throws and a drive then had a steal and dished to Williams for a dunk and the lead with 11 seconds left.

Samir Doughty led Auburn with 26 points and made five three-pointers. McCormick came up with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists while also delivering in the key moments.

“He stepped up,” Doughty said. “That’s what we expected. Of course, we wanted the ball in his hands and he just delivered.”

Devan Cambridge made seven three-pointers for 21 points after failing to score in the last four games since a career-high 26 against South Carolina. He replaced starter Danjel Purifoy, who was out with the flu.

“It’s one of the better comebacks of my career because of what was at stake and just how much we were down late to such a good team in a championship-type game,” Pearl said. “I can’t think of many bigger.”

Mays led all scorers with 30 points while also getting eight assists and seven rebounds. He scored nine in overtime.

Darius Days had 19 points before fouling out.

Doughty and Cambridge both capped big games with a pair of three-pointers in overtime before LSU staged its own rally. Auburn helped by missed three of four free throws down the stretch.

“It was a tough loss, but it was two really good teams slugging out and going against each other,” LSU Coach Will Wade said.

NO. 15 KENTUCKY 77, TENNESSEE 64

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Immanuel Quickley scored 18 points, and Kentucky won for the sixth time in seven games.

The Wildcats (18-5, 8-2) beat Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time in Rick Barnes’ five-season tenure as the Volunteers’ coach.

Tennessee (13-10, 5-5) had won its last four home games with Kentucky, including two instances when the unranked Vols beat a ranked Wildcats squad. Kentucky had been the higher-ranked team in each of those four matchups.

Quickley was one of five Kentucky players to score in double figures. Tyrese Maxey and Nick Richards each had 15 points.

Santiago Vescovi scored 18 points for Tennessee, which lost for the fourth time in its last five games.

SOUTH CAROLINA 74, TEXAS A&M 54

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Jermaine Couisnard scored 19 points and AJ Lawson 18 as South Carolina used a big firsthalf run to put away Texas A&M.

Couisnard and Lawson combined for six of the Gamecocks’ eight three-pointers to win their fourth straight over the Aggies (11-11, 5-5).

South Carolina (14-9, 6-4) has won six of its past eight league games after starting SEC play at 0-2. And this time, the Gamecocks did it with a first-half charge where they went from trailing by nine points to up 41-23 at the half.

Couisnard and Lawson led the surge with their outside shooting. Lawson hit a three-pointer after South Carolina had fallen behind 9-0 the first three minutes.

Couisnard, a freshman, put the Gamecocks up for good, 19-18, with nine minutes left in the opening half.

MISSISSIPPI 68, FLORIDA 51

OXFORD, Miss. — Breein Tyree scored 23 points and sparked Mississippi to what proved to be an insurmountable early lead as the Rebels defeated Florida.

Devontae Shuler and KJ Buffen scored 14 points apiece as Ole Miss (12-11, 3-7) won consecutive league games for the first time and snapped a two-game winning streak by the Gators. Buffen had a team-high nine rebounds, while Shuler added a game-high five assists.

Florida (14-9, 6-4) was led by Keyontae Johnson and Kerry Blackshear Jr. with 16 and 11 points, respectively.

ALABAMA 105, GEORGIA 102

ATHENS, Ga. — Kira Lewis Jr. scored a career-high 37 points, including two free throws in overtime to give Alabama a lead that would stand, and the Crimson Tide beat Georgia to end a threegame losing streak.

Alabama (13-10, 5-5) rallied after trailing by 12 points early in the second half.

Georgia (12-11, 2-8) has lost six of its last seven games. Sahvir Wheeler scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Bulldogs. Rayshaun Hammonds had 20 points.

Lewis sank two free throws with 2:21 remaining in overtime to give Alabama a 98-96 lead. Georgia made only one of its last eight shots from the floor in the extra period.