Auburn blasts Gamecocks for record victory

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Allen Flanigan scored a career-high 24 points with four 3-pointers, and Sharife Cooper had a double-double by halftime as Auburn resoundingly thwacked South Carolina 109-86 on Saturday for its first win on the Gamecocks’ home floor since 2014.

The Tigers scored their most points in a Southeastern Conference road win in program history.

Cooper, a freshman who was granted eligibility by the NCAA on Jan. 9, scored 16 points and had 12 assists for his second double-double. He had 10 points and 11 assists in the first 20 minutes.

Jaylin Williams scored 18 points with seven rebounds, JT Thor added 14 points and seven rebounds and Devan Cambridge scored 10 as the Tigers (9-7, 3-5) shot 52%, with their 40-for-77 showing including 14-of27 from 3-point range. The Tigers also made 15 of 16 free throws.

Keyshawn Bryant scored 24 points for South Carolina (3-5, 1-3), with AJ Lawson adding 23 and Jermaine Couisnard 16 with six assists. The Gamecocks were outrebounded 46-34, outscored on second-chance points 21-9 and 46-30 in the paint.

› No. 18 Alabama 81, Mississippi State 73

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Herbert Jones had 17 points, seven assists, four steals and three blocks to help the Crimson Tide (13-3, 8-0) push their winning streak to nine games overall while winning an eighth consecutive SEC game for the first time since starting league play 8-0 in the 1986-87 season.

The visiting Bulldogs (9-7, 4-4) cut an 11-point second-half deficit down to three in the final minute, but with 32 seconds left, John Petty Jr. answered with a 3-pointer for Alabama, which entered the weekend with a two-game lead in the league standings.

Freshman guard Joshua Primo scored 16 points and made four first-half 3s for the Tide, and Petty scored 12 points, all on 3-pointers. Jaden Shackelford also had 12 for Alabama, and Alex Reese added 11.

D.J. Stewart Jr. led Mississippi State with 27 points and Iverson Molinar added 19.

› Florida 92, Georgia 84

ATHENS, Ga. — Tre Mann poured in a career-high 24 points, leading five Florida scorers in double figures as the Gators (8-4, 5-3) shot 57% from the floor.

Noah Locke added 16 points, making four 3-pointers, Colin Castleton and Tyree Appleby each scored 14 and Omar Payne had 10 for Florida, which upset Tennessee earlier in the week despite being shorthanded due to injuries and health and safety protocol.

Andrew Garcia scored 17 points on 8-for9 shooting and K.D. Johnson added 16 to pace Georgia (9-5, 2-5), which was coming off back-to-back wins.

Justin Kier scored 14 points, Toumani Camara 11 and Sahvir Wheeler 10 for the Bulldogs, who trailed just 42-39 at halftime. Wheeler also had 10 assists for his fifth points-assists double-double of the season.

› Kentucky 82, LSU 69

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Keion Brooks Jr. scored 13 of his season-high 15 points in the first half, and Brandon Boston Jr. added 13 of his 18 points in the second half as Kentucky trailed for just 15 seconds early on its way to snapping a three-game skid.

Kentucky (5-9, 4-3), which had a sixgame losing streak earlier this season, got a much-needed win in the first of a five-game stretch against teams in the top 40 of the NET rankings.

For LSU (10-4, 5-3), Trendon Watford tied his career best with 26 points and added a season-high-tying 10 rebounds, and freshman Cameron Thomas scored 18 points.

› Arkansas 92, Vanderbilt 71

NASHVILLE — Moses Moody tallied 26 points with eight rebounds, and Jalen Tate scored 25 as Arkansas (12-4, 4-4) led all the way in a road win.

D.J. Harvey scored 16 points and Scotty Pippen Jr. added 15 for Vanderbilt (4-7, 0-5), which trailed 45-35 at halftime.

Justin Smith’s layup with 14:54 remaining in the game made it a 57-46 advantage, and the Razorbacks — who finished with a 39-29 rebounding edge — led by double figures the rest of the way.

› Ole Miss 61, Texas A&M 50

OXFORD, Miss. — Jarkel Joiner scored 21 points with seven rebounds, and Devontae Shuler added 17 points to help the Rebels to the victory.

Kevin Marfo’s layup with 1:55 left before halftime gave Texas A&M a 28-23 lead. From there, Ole Miss (8-6, 3-4) proceeded to go on a 20-2 run from which the Aggies (7-6, 2-5) never regrouped.

Texas A&M didn’t score again until Emanuel Miller’s jump shot with almost five minutes gone after intermission.

Miller scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.