Doughty, No. 17 Auburn top No. 13 Kentucky

AUBURN, Ala. — Samir Doughty scored 23 points while making 14 of 15 free throws and No. 17 Auburn finished strong in a 75-66 win over 13th-ranked Kentucky on Saturday in an NCAA Tournament rematch.

Isaac Okoro made a key 3-pointer and scored 14 points for the Tigers (19-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference), who dominated the final four minutes.

It wasn’t nearly as big as their 77-71 overtime victory over the Wildcats (16-5, 6-2) that vaulted Auburn to its first Final Four last season, but it moved the Tigers into a tie for second place in the SEC.

The Tigers hadn’t played a ranked team all season but face league leader No. 22 LSU next Saturday.

Immanuel Quickley led Kentucky with 23 points before fouling out in the final minute, taking away the Wildcats’ top 3-point shooter with point guard Ashton Hagans already on the bench with five fouls. Tyrese Maxey added 22 points while stars Hagans and Nick Richards struggled.

Hagans fouled out on a steal attempt with 3:36 left and Auburn leading 62-60. He had five points — his second lowest total of the season — and three assists while committing six turnovers.

Richards had seven points, half his season average, and seven rebounds.

Mississippi State 86, Tennessee 73

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Reggie Perry had 24 points with 12 rebounds and D.J. Stewart had a career-high 20 points to lead Mississippi State to an 86-73 victory over Tennessee on Saturday.

Perry’s output marked the seventh time in the last 10 games he has scored at least 20 points. The sophomore forward also collected his 12th double-double of the season and 21st of his career. Stewart was 6 of 9 shooting and made 4 of 5 shots from 3-point distance.

Robert Woodard added 14 points for Mississippi State (14-7 overall, 5-3 in the SEC), which has won five straight conference games. Nick Weatherspoon had 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high nine assists for the Bulldogs.

Uros Plavsic and Santiago Vescovi each had 16 points for Tennessee (12-9, 4-4), which has dropped three straight games. Jalen Johnson added 13 for the Volunteers and Jordan Bowden had 12.

LSU 73, Ole Miss 63

BATON ROUGE, La. — Javonte Smart scored 13 of his season-high 21 points in the last 16 minutes, and No. 22 LSU extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 73-63 victory over struggling Mississippi on Saturday.

Marlon Tayor had 13 points and 11 rebounds and freshman Trnedon Watford scored 13 points for LSU (17-4, 8-0 SEC), which is off to its best start in conference play in 39 years.

Devontae Shuler scored a career-high 28 for Ole Miss (10-11, 1-7), which lost two straight and eight of its last nine.

These teams met two weeks earlier in Oxford, with the Tigers pulling out a four-point victory in which Ole Miss guard Breein Tyree scored a career-high 36 points.

LSU looked determined not let the rematch come down to tense final few minutes, breaking the game open with an early 25-2 run for a 32-11 lead. The Tigers opened up a 24-point advantage when Watford scored his 11th point on a free throw that made it 40-16 in the final minute of the half before Ole Miss cut it to 40-20 at the break.

South Carolina 76, Missouri 54,

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Maik Kotsar had a season-high 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead South Carolina to a 76-54 victory over Missouri on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (13-8, 5-3 SEC) won for the fifth time in their past six league games after starting Southeastern Conference play 0-2.

The 6-foot-10 senior Kotsar was unstoppable at both ends of the floor for South Carolina. He made his first seven shots and had eight defensive boards in the opening half as the Gamecocks built a double-digit lead.

Kotsar also had four of South Carolina’s nine blocks — the team’s best showing in SEC play this season.