Gators stay close, but ’Cats still win
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Aaron Harrison scored 23 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 and top-ranked Kentucky remained unbeaten with a 68-61 victory over Florida on Saturday night.
Willie Cauley- Stein chipped in 13 points, highlighted by a thunderous dunk over freshman Devin Robinson in the second half, and the Wildcats (23-0, 10-0 SEC) snapped a three-game losing streak against the Gators (1211, 5-5).
It was closer than most expected. Even Florida Coach Billy Donovan said this week that there was a “huge discrepancy” in talent between the teams. Donovan added: “I wouldn’t say it’s just our team. It’s everybody.”
But the Gators played one of their best games of the season and kept it tight.
Florida led by nine in the first half and used a 6-0 run to go up 44-42 midway through the second. But Cauley-Stein’s dunk proved to be the turning point.
Kentucky closed out the game from the free-throw line and finished 21 of 22 from there. Florida, meanwhile, made 7 of 14 from the line.
Dorian Finney-Smith led Florida with 16 points and five rebounds. Kasey Hill added 12 points, Eli Carter had 11 and Michael Frazier II 10 despite missing much of the second with a sprained ankle.
In other SEC games Saturday, J.J. Frazier scored 10 points, all in the final 11 minutes, and Georgia overcame turnover problems to edge Tennessee 56-53. Georgia (15-7, 6-4) snapped a two-game losing streak despite matching its season high with 20 turnovers. Tennessee (13-9, 5-5) has lost two consecutive and four of five. Charles Mann and Nemanja Djurisic had 10 points apiece for Georgia. Mann had six turnovers. … LaDarius White scored 20 points and Stefan Moody had 15 to lead Mississippi to an 86-79 victory over Auburn. The Rebels (16-7, 7-3) lost most of a nine-point lead in the second half before regrouping to win a fifth consecutive league game for the first time since the 2012-13 season. White made all five shots and scored 12 points in the second half. Jarvis Summers added 13 points while Sebastian Saiz scored 11 and Anthony Perez had 10. Four starters for Auburn (11-12, 3-7) scored in double digits led by Antoine Mason’s 23 points. … Riley LaChance scored 19 points to lead a Vanderbilt comeback as the Commodores rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat South Carolina 65-50. The Commodores (13-10, 3-7) trailed 41-27 with 13:46 left before rallying. LaChance made back-to-back three-pointers to give Vanderbilt a 4543 lead with 8:25 left. South Carolina (11-11, 2-8) has lost six of its last seven games. … Jordan Mickey scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as LSU ended a two-game losing streak with a 71-60 victory against Alabama. Mickey, who collected his 14th double-double of the season, was 7-of-11 from the field and made a season-high 10 foul shots. Jarell Martin scored 16 points for the Tigers (17-6, 6-4), who never trailed. Alabama (14-9, 4-6), which made only five field goals over the last nine minutes, was led by Levi Randolph, who scored 17 points. … Danuel House scored 20 points and Jalen Jones added 16 to lead Texas A&M past Missouri 83-61. The Aggies (16-6, 7-3) remained in second place in the SEC after winning their seventh game in eight tries. Texas A&M shot 33 of 56 (58.9 percent) against Missouri and led by seven at halftime before gradually extending its advantage through the second half. A three-pointer by House with 13:46 remaining in the first half put the Aggies up for good. Wes Clark scored 15 points for Missouri (7-16, 1-9).