Kentucky escapes with win at Mississippi State
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari said he took a few moments after Saturday’s game to praise his team for winning its 10th straight contest thanks to some gritty plays in a difficult road environment.
Then the compliments ended. It was time for the truth.
“If you want me to tell you everything’s all good, it isn’t,” Calipari said. “I went right down to each guy. Not mean, screaming or cussing. I wasn’t.
“But you’re here because you want me to keep it real. Well, this is real.”
And the truth is that No. 5 Kentucky was fortunate to escape Humphrey Coliseum with a 71-67 victory over Mississippi State. The Wildcats let an 18-point lead early in the second half dwindle to just one possession with 1:18 remaining before a defensive stop in the final seconds sealed the win.
P.J. Washington scored 23 points, Keldon Johnson added 13 and Tyler Herro had 12, including a crucial 3-pointer with three minutes left. Kentucky (20-3, 9-1 Southeastern Conference) hasn’t lost since its conference opener against Alabama on Jan. 5.
The Wildcats looked like they might cruise to the win after Washington hit a 3-pointer early in the second half to give them a 49-31 lead. But Mississippi State responded with a huge run to pull within 51-50 on a pair of free throws by Quinndary Weatherspoon with 8:41 left.
Washington and Ashton Hagans hit back-to-back layups to squash the Bulldogs’ momentum, but Mississippi State kept fighting and Weatherspoon made a free throw to cut Kentucky’s advantage to 70-67 with 1:18 left.
“Once we turned the defense up, I feel like that’s when we’re better offensively,” Mississippi State guard Nick Weatherspoon said. “We got going, started getting points in transition and felt like we got them on their heels.”
But Mississippi State came up empty on its final possession when Quinndary Weatherspoon lost possession and Kentucky’s Johnson came up with the loose ball.
“Once they made that run, we just had to come together even more, stay focused and stay together,” Johnson said.
Lamar Peters led the Bulldogs (16-7, 4-6) with 16 points while Quinndary Weatherspoon added 14, all in the second half. The Bulldogs have lost four of their last six.
Kentucky’s Washington scored at least 20 points for the fifth time in six games. The 6-foot-8 sophomore shot 9-of-13 from the field, but Calipari wasn’t particularly impressed. The veteran coach made it clear he has high standards.
“I think he’s the best player in the country, but not like he played today,” Calipari said. “He doesn’t go get rebounds, doesn’t get loose balls, missed one-footers, missed free throws. What? If you’re the best, play that way. Come out with great energy. A motor.”
“It’s not about making shots. It’s the way you play.”
› No. 21 LSU 83, Auburn 78
BATON ROUGE, La. — Tremont Waters had 19 points and 10 assists and LSU overcame a sluggish start to beat Auburn.
Skylar Mays had 20 points for LSU (19-4, 9-1), which bounced back from its lone conference loss with a pair of league victories heading into its toughest road test yet at fifth-ranked Kentucky.
While Auburn shot better from deep, Naz Reid and Kavell Bigby-Williams helped LSU own the paint, where it outrebounded Auburn 47-34 and outscored it 38-18.
Reid finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Jared Harper scored 25 for Auburn (16-7, 5-5), which had its three-game winning streak snapped.
Harper sank five of Auburn’s 16 3-pointers.
› Ole Miss 80, Georgia 64
ATHENS, Ga. — Breein Tyree scored 31 points, his fifth straight game with at least 20, and Ole Miss beat Georgia, giving the struggling Bulldogs their fourth straight loss.
Ole Miss (16-7, 6-4) leaned heavily on Tyree, who matched his career scoring high. The junior guard reached 20 points, scoring on a drive about seven minutes into the second half, before any teammate was in double figures.
The Rebels have recovered from a four-game losing streak with two straight wins.
Rayshaun Hammonds scored 10 points before fouling out with about five minutes remaining for Georgia (10-13, 1-9).
Jordan Harris and Tyree Crump also had 10 points for Georgia.
› South Carolina 77, Arkansas 65
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Freshman A.J. Lawson scored 24 points and fellow freshman Keyshawn Bryant added 17 as South Carolina beat Arkansas.
The Gamecocks (12-11, 7-3) trailed by 13 with 15:30 to go when the talented duo took over.
Lawson hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Bryant had slashing drives. And when Lawson found Bryant soaring for an alley-oop, the Gamecocks were up 59-54 with 8:45 left.
Arkansas (14-9, 5-5) had one last run, taking a 61-59 lead with six minutes left. But Lawson, Bryant and senior Chris Silva helped South Carolina end the game on an 18-4 run.
Lawson and Bryant scored 31 of South Carolina’s 46 second-half points.
Jalen Harris led Arkansas with 17 points, while Mason Jones added 15 points. Daniel Gafford scored eight points — his lowest output of the season.
› Texas A&M 68, Missouri 59 COLUMBIA, Mo. — Wendell Mitchell scored 20 points to help Texas A&M erase a 12-point second-half deficit and beat Missouri.
T.J. Starks scored 15 points, Christian Mekowulu added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Savion Flagg finished with 12 points for the Aggies (9-13, 2-8).
Javon Pickett led Missouri (1111, 2-8) with 15 points, and Torrence Watson and Jordan Geist each scored 12. Junior forward Reed Nikko, making his first career start, finished with a season-high eight points.
The Aggies trailed 30-21 at halftime, largely because they committed 10 turnovers against Missouri’s sagging man-to-man defense that ranks next-to-last in the SEC in steals. The Tigers expanded the lead to 12 points on a Watson 3-pointer with 17:39 left.
Starks sparked a Texas A&M comeback by blowing by defenders and converting drives to the basket. Flagg’s 3-pointer in transition gave the Aggies the lead at 46-44 with 7:23 remaining. They pulled away late as Missouri frittered away offensive possessions with 10 second-half turnovers.