Williams, Bowden lift Vols to a victory
NO. 3 TENNESSEE 78, FLORIDA 67
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Grant Williams scored 20 points, Jordan Bowden added 17 off the bench and No. 3 Tennessee rallied to beat Florida 78-67 on Saturday for their 10th consecutive victory.
Admiral Schofield, who sat out much of the second half with four fouls, provided the biggest bucket with a three-pointer from the corner with 41.3 seconds remaining. Jalen Hudson misfired on the other end, and the Gators were forced to foul in the waning seconds. Schofield’s shot came after Williams appeared to get away with a travel in the lane.
Tennessee players mockingly performed the “Gator chomp” to fans after the final buzzer.
The Volunteers (14-1, 3-0 SEC) have their first double-digit winning streak since 2008.
Williams, Bowden and Schofield did much of the heavy lifting in the latest one.
Williams made 8 of 11 shots to go along with 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Bowden accounted for 14 consecutive points in the second half — with Schofield on the bench — and then Schofield delivered the knockout blow. Schofield finished with 14 points.
KeVaughn Allen (North Little Rock) led the Gators (9-6, 1-2) with 18 points.
Florida led 38-35 at the half thanks to 9 three-pointers. But Coach Mike White’s team made just three from behind the arc in the second half.
NO. 11 AUBURN 93, GEORGIA 78
AUBURN, Ala. — Jared Harper had 22 points and seven assists while he and No. 11 Auburn rebounded from a rough night to beat Georgia.
Harper and the Tigers (12-3, 1-1) looked sharper at home than in an 8267 loss at Mississippi, but still struggled to put away a team that was blown away by No. 3 Tennessee a week ago.
The Bulldogs (9-6, 1-2) threatened to make it close through much of the second half to avoid a repeat of that 46-point road loss to the Volunteers.
MISSISSIPPI 81, NO. 14 MISSISSIPPI STATE 77
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Blake Hinson poured in basket after basket, Breein Tyree added 19 points and Ole Miss rallied for a victory over No. 14 Mississippi State.
Ole Miss (13-2, 3-0) won its 10th consecutive, continuing its surprising run of great basketball under first-year Coach Kermit Davis.
Mississippi State (12-3, 0-2) had a two-point lead at halftime and stretched that advantage to 48-39 in the opening minutes of the second half. But the Rebels wouldn’t go away — Hinson hit three consecutive three-pointers at one point — and Ole Miss pulled ahead 7062 with seven minutes left.
NO. 18 KENTUCKY 56, VANDERBILT 47
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Ashton Hagans and Keldon Johnson each scored 15 points and combined to rally No. 18 Kentucky from another slow start in a victory over Vanderbilt.
Perimeter shooting propelled the Commodores to a 16-5 lead and 30-28 edge at the break. Johnson and Hagans then combined to score the first seven points of the second half for the Wildcats’ first lead at 35-30. Kentucky (12-3, 2-1) steadily pulled away for its second consecutive victory despite a season low in points.
Aaron Nesmith had 11 points, while Saben Lee and Joe Toye added 9 apiece for Vanderbilt (9-6, 0-3), which shot below 40 percent for the second consecutive game.
TEXAS A&M 81, ALABAMA 80
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — TJ Starks hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift Texas A&M to a victory over Alabama.
Starks took the inbounds pass, raced down the left side and heaved in a running shot for the victory.
Josh Nebo finished with a team-high 21 points and 7 rebounds for the Aggies (7-7, 1-2). Wendell Mitchell finished with 18 points, including 3 three-pointers, Savion Flagg added 16 points and Starks, who was just 4-of-17 shooting, had 12.