South Carolina upsets Auburn
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 10 Auburn's path toward closing out a stellar season in the Southeastern Conference just got tougher.
The Tigers found out shortly after their stunning, 84-75 loss to South Carolina on Saturday that starter Anfernee McLemore was lost for the season after a horrific injury late in the first half.
"Now, we're down to eight guys," Auburn
The Tigers (23-4, 11-3 SEC) were already one of the smallest teams in the country —
go the rest of the year minus their top lowpost presence in the 6-foot-7 McLemore, who fractured his tibia and dislocated his left ankle.
with the team and most likely have surgery Sunday. McLemore will need up to six months to recover.
"It's just sad," Auburn forward Desean Murray said.
about factors out of their control, such as McLemore's injury. Everyone left on their schedule will be gunning for the first-place
find a way to succeed.
"We've got to clear our heads," Murray said, "and bring another level of focus to practice."
Auburn had lost its focus early in this one as South Carolina used a 21-1 first-half run to move in front by 26 points.
Frank Booker scored 19 points for South Carolina, which ended its six-game losing streak.
Auburn blocked out McLemore's injury in the second half and cut its big deficit down to 64-59 with just under seven minutes left.
But South Carolina scored the next seven points to restore the double-digit lead, and Auburn could get no closer than six points the rest of the way.
South Carolina beat a top-10 program for the third straight season and defeated its first top-10 team at home since taking out No. 1 Kentucky in January 2010.
Chris Silva had 14 points and 11 rebounds for South Carolina, his sixth double-double of the season.
South Carolina coach Frank Martin said his team has worked hard this season but struggled to close out tight games.
"We've got to embrace this moment," he said.
Mustapha Heron led Auburn with 16 points, just four of those coming in the second half. Brown, the Tigers' leading scorer this season, was held to 10 points (six fewer than his average) on 3-of-16 shooting.
Auburn has been the surprise of the SEC season so far. Things may get harder with McLemore out.
McLemore came down hard late in the first half while on defense. He immediately began shouting and medical personnel quickly surrounded him underneath the
Carolina coach Frank Martin came out to check on the 6-foot-7 sophomore, who was diagnosed with a dislocated left ankle and taken off the court on a stretcher before being transported to a hospital for X-rays, which confirmed the severity of the injury.
Before leaving, McLemore sat up and waved at the cheering crowd.
ATHENS, Ga. — Tennessee coach Rick Barnes says the homestretch of the regular season is a time to either improve or lose ground.
Barnes said Georgia is improving. He wasn't as generous in his appraisal of his Volunteers.
Yante Maten scored 19 points and Georgia held off No. 18 Tennessee for a victory that denied the Volunteers an opportunity to pull within a game of the SEC lead.
"This time of year, if you're not getting better, you're getting worse," Barnes said. "Georgia is better than they were two weeks ago. The question is are we going to get better?"
Derek Ogbeide had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Georgia (15-11, 6-8 Southeastern Conference) won its second straight in a late attempt to return to NCAA Tournament consideration.
Tennessee (19-7, 9-5) remained two games behind No. 10 Auburn, the SEC leader, which lost to South Carolina 84-75 on Saturday. The Vols, who have lost two of their last three, were outrebounded 40-33.
"We were just out-toughed," said Admiral Schofield, who had 11 points. "We went out there and competed tonight, but when mattered, we weren't there."
Lamonte Turner led Tennessee with 14 points. Jordan Bowden had 13.
Georgia had been considered an NCAA bubble team before losing six of seven games, prompting coach Mark Fox to say some players had lost confidence. The Bulldogs still have more ground to make up in their final four regular season games, including a visit to Tennessee on March 3, but confidence should be restored following wins over Florida and Tennessee this week.
"This league is a monster," Fox said. "You're going to have ups and downs and we had a couple of games where we didn't play well. They stuck together and just kept trying to get better and play the right way."
Maten said players took an attitude of "We're a good team, let's go prove it. That's what we focused on. We had to start a roll and try to get on a winning streak."
Maten scored eight of his 19 points on free throws. Georgia outscored the Vols 27-10 at the free-throw line.
"Give them credit, they earned it, but at times we just didn't play that smart," Barnes said.
Tennessee's last lead was 6-5. Georgia briefly led by double figures at 38-28 before a 3-pointer by Schofield started the Vols' comeback.
A tip-in by Kyle Alexander cut the Georgia lead to 51-49, but the Vols couldn't take advantage of repeated opportunities to pull even. it LEXINGTON, Ky. — Four straight losses were enough for Kentucky.
Knox added 13, and Kentucky beat Alabama to end a four-game slide.
"They played desperately," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "We gave away some games this year and we have to start taking games away from people, which means desperation."
The Wildcats (18-9, 7-7 Southeastern Conference) displayed a sense of urgency against the Crimson Tide, especially in the rebounding department. The Wildcats held a commanding 44-27 edge on the glass and grabbed 20 offensive boards, resulting in 20 second-chance points for the hosts.
"They were desperate and they had a lot of energy," Alabama coach Avery Johnson said.
Quade Green scored 12 points, Jarred Vanderbilt scored a career-high 11 off the bench with nine rebounds, and Nick Richards added 10 points for the Wildcats.
Vanderbilt played a key role down the stretch for the Wildcats and finished with nine rebounds.
"We came together the last five minutes," Vanderbilt said. "We made some key plays down the stretch, took care of the ball and we just executed."
For Kentucky, which hadn't won since an 83-81 overtime win over Vanderbilt on Jan. 30, fending off the Crimson Tide (17-10, 8-6) wasn't an easy task. The Wildcats have won six straight over Alabama, including 11 of the past 12 games.
"It felt like we were back to normal and back to where we needed to be," Washington said. "We just need to keep building from here."
Alabama, the top defensive team in the conference, forced eight ties and 15 lead changes until the Wildcats gained control midway through the second half to avoid a fifth straight loss. Kentucky led for the final eight minutes.
Knox, Kentucky's leading scorer, sat out 14 minutes of the first half because of foul trouble, but picked up the scoring load with all of his 13 points in the second half. Knox connected on first field-goal 7/8— a 3-pointer with 13:22 remaining — to ignite the Wildcats' stagnant offense and spark the team's impressive finish.
Kentucky led 39-34 at the break amid four ties and 11 lead changes. The Wildcats got most of their scoring off the bench in the opening half with Green and Washington combining for 15 points. Green paved the way with nine and made four of five field goals.
"They just outworked us," Alabama forward Donata Hall said. "They were a hungry team."
Hall led Alabama with 16 points, John
Reese 10.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With just under 14 minutes left, things didn't look good for Vanderbilt.
The Commodores were down by 11 points and Florida seemed poised for a road win.
But then the Memorial Magic energized Vanderbilt again as the Commodores rallied to their fifth straight home win with a victory over the Gators.
"Our crowd is spectacular," Commodores coach Bryce Drew said. "They're very knowledgeable. They know when to cheer, when not to cheer, when our team needs it and again, there's no question our players feed off of that. They play with much more energy."
Jeff Roberson scored 26 points and Riley LaChance added 21 for the Commodores (11-16, 5-9 Southeastern Conference), who won at Memorial Gym for the eighth time in the last 10 games.
"They've been phenomenal," Drew said. "I keep saying it, but about the last month and a half they've played the best stretch in the two years that I've been here. They've carried the team different ways, different times."
Both seniors are 1,000-point scorers for their careers.
Vanderbilt trailed 47-36 with 13:46 left before starting to chip away at Florida's lead.
"We really just felt like we weren't even playing well, like we were lucky to be down 11 at that point," Roberson said. "We were just ready to play tough basketball we know we're capable of. Once we did that, things started rolling our way."
LaChance's layup gave Vanderbilt a 6968 lead with 1:53 remaining. Joe Toye, who scored 13 points, nailed two foul shots to finish the scoring with 11 seconds remaining.
Florida's Egor Koulechov missed a chance to tie the score when his 3-point attempt bounced off the rim twice with six seconds left.
Keith Stone led Florida (17-10, 8-6) with 20 points and Koulechov added 14, including four 3-pointers. Jalen Hudson had 10 points or the Gators, who made only three turnovers and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds.
"They got wide-open looks they made us pay for," Stone said of the Vanderbilt comeback. "First half, they got open looks, but they didn't make them, but in the second half they made us pay. We'll bounce back, I know this team."
the first half, Florida took a 34-28 lead at the break.
Vanderbilt split two games with Florida, including an 81-74 loss in an SEC opener on Dec. 30.
BATON ROUGE, La. — Tremont Waters made a shot in the lane with 19 seconds remaining in the game to give LSU a Southeastern Conference victory against Missouri.
Waters pulled LSU (15-11, 6-8) within one point on a short jumper with 1:08 remaining. LSU got a stop when Aaron Epps
with 40 seconds to go and Waters then made his game-winning shot.
Missouri (18-9, 8-6) had two opportunities to retake the lead in the final seconds. With five seconds remaining, Daryl Edwards drew a charging foul from Kassius Robertson.
However, LSU's Edwards made a poor inbounds pass and Robertson retrieved the loose ball. Robertson missed a short jumper with one second to play and a tip by Cullen Vanleer at the buzzer hit the underside of the basket.
"Daryl Edwards made a winning play at the end on the charge," LSU coach Will Wade said. "Our execution on the inbound could have been better, not to make the end so dramatic. Missouri is one of, if not the best, team we have beaten. It was a good win for us."
Waters was the leading scorer for LSU with 21 points and scored LSU's final six points. Epps had 12 points and nine rebounds and Skylar Mays added 10 points.
"I tried to learn my lesson with Tremont," Wade said. "At Alabama, I put him on the bench for a little while. We have to trust him a little bit more. I played Epps with fouls a little longer than I typically do. You have to trust those guys and let them play through it more. I tried to do that today."
Jordan Barnett was the top scorer for Missouri with 18 points. Robertson finished with 14 points — four below his season average.
There were 13 ties and 19 lead changes throughout the game. Neither team had more than a five-point advantage. It was a one-possession game for almost the final 16 minutes.
"It's a tough one," Missouri coach Cuonzo Martin said. "LSU obviously did some good things and protected their home court. We didn't play as a team in the first ten minutes in the first half. We started to settle in a little bit in the second half. We did a solid job defensively except down the stretch."
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Daniel Gafford capped off the most difficult stretch of his young Southeastern Conference career with a disappointing and foul-plagued performance the last time Arkansas faced Texas A&M.
The standout Razorbacks forward remembered that game all too well, and it showed as he added yet another dominating effort to his remarkable freshman season.
Gafford scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting to lead Arkansas (19-8, 8-6 SEC) to its fourth straight win over the No. 21 Aggies. It was the fifth straight game in double figures for Gafford, who is shooting 70.7 percent (29 of 41) since the 80-66 loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 30.
The 6-foot-11 freshman was on a mission to atone for that loss, and it showed as he hit his first five shots and punctuated the dominating win with a late dunk.
play smarter and more physical," Gafford said. "Because in my mind, I was ready for them. I was ready for Tyler Davis, I was ready for pretty much all the big men because pretty much I got punked when we went up to Texas A&M, and I didn't want that to happen tonight."
Gafford had plenty of help from his teammates, with Jaylen Barford scoring 14 of his 21 points in the second half and adding five rebounds and five assists for the surging Razorbacks.
Also, Daryl Macon finished with 20 points for an Arkansas team that's won seven of its last nine. It was the eighth time in the last nine games Macon has scored 20 or more. C.J. Jones had 13 points off the bench.
Robert Williams had 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead Texas A&M (17-10, 6-8), which lost its second straight after entering the rankings this week. The 6-foot-10 sophomore also had three blocks and finished 10 of 13 from the field.
Admon Gilder also scored 20 points for the Aggies, while Davis added 15 points and T.J. Starks had 12. However, Texas A&M was unable to slow down an Arkansas team that shot 49.3 percent (35 of 71) from the field and hit 10 of 23 3-pointers.
"There's not many teams going to come in here and beat Arkansas when they shoot the ball like they did today," Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. "I thought they shot the ball extremely well and made some tough shots."