No. 8 Alabama recovers from slow start to beat Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. — Alabama looked ordinary when it was missing its strength as one of the nation’s best 3-point shooting teams.
When the long-range shots started falling, the Crimson Tide again looked like the Southeastern Conference champions.
Herbert Jones had two baskets in a 9-0 run to open the second half that gave No. 8 Alabama the lead, and the Tide beat Georgia 89-79 on Saturday.
Alabama led only 82-79 before Keon Ellis, a backup guard, sank a 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining. It was one of eight 3s made in 10 attempts in the second half for the Tide after they were only 2-of-12 from outside the arc in the first half.
“That 3 was huge,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said.
Jahvon Quinerly led Alabama with 18 points, John Petty Jr. had 15 and Jaden Shackelford finished with 14.
Alabama (21-6, 16-2) overcame 22 turnovers and the slow start to match its school record for SEC wins in the 1986-87 season. The Tide will take a threegame winning streak and the No. 1 seed into the upcoming SEC tournament in Tennessee.
Quinerly blamed a sluggish first half on “not coming out ready to play 100%” and “some bonehead mistakes.”
“In the second half, we took better care of the ball and got the ball moving around a little more, and obviously the offense took care of itself,” Quinerly said.
Georgia (14-11, 7-11) led by 14 in the first half but couldn’t maintain the pace. Sahvir Wheeler led the Bulldogs with 18 points, and freshman K.D. Johnson had 16.
Georgia coach Tom Crean said the key shot by Ellis was evidence of Alabama’s depth, which he said is “the real separator” in the conference.
Alabama’s challenge was to avoid a letdown while playing one week after clinching its first SEC regular-season championship in 19 years. The Tide cut down the nets on their home court after completing a sweep of rival Auburn on Tuesday night.
The poor long-distance shooting by Alabama early in the game created an opening for Georgia to build a 29-15 lead. The Tide regrouped to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 36-30 at halftime.
Led by Jones, who had 10 points, the Tide needed only about one minute in the second half to grab the advantage. Jones had two baskets and Jordan Bruner sank a 3-pointer in a 15-2 run, including nine unanswered points, to open the half.
Alabama appeared to be on the verge of taking control when it stretched the advantage to 55-45. Georgia answered with three quick 3-pointers from Johnson to trim the Tide’s lead to 57-54.
The Bulldogs briefly pulled within two points but couldn’t complete the comeback. Alabama stretched its advantage back to 10 points at 73-63.
› Kentucky 92, South Carolina 64
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Davion Mintz and Brandon Boston Jr. both set career bests with six 3-pointers apiece as Kentucky beat South Carolina.
Mintz finished with 20 points and seven assists, with five of his 3s coming in the opening five minutes of the second half, including three straight to boost the Wildcats (9-15, 8-9) to a 19-point lead, 55-36. Boston scored 21 points, Olivier Sarr added 15 points and Isaiah Jackson 13 with 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
Kentucky, which finished with its first losing record in the SEC since 1989, will open conference tournament play Thursday. It’s the first time Kentucky hasn’t had a double bye since the SEC tournament expanded in 2013. The Wildcats would need an amazing run in the conference and NCAA tournaments to avoid their first overall losing record since going 3-13 in 1926-27.
Keyshawn Bryant scored 16 points and Jayyn McCreary 14 points for the Gamecocks (6-14, 4-12).
› Auburn 78, Mississippi State 71
AUBURN, Ala. — Allen Flanigan scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, and Auburn pulled away late to beat Mississippi State and give Bruce Pearl his 600th coaching victory.
With no seniors and just two upperclassmen on the roster, Auburn didn’t stage a senior day, and the Tigers (13-14, 7-11) announced in November that they were self-imposing a postseason ban as a result of a long-running NCAA probe.
Pearl is the 63rd coach in Division I history and the 21st active coach to reach 600 wins. Pearl’s record over 26 years of coaching is 600-237. This is his seventh season at Auburn.
The lead went back and forth in the second half until Auburn grabbed it for good on a bucket by Jaylin Williams. The lead was seven after a Williams dunk with 47 seconds left. After a Bulldogs basket, Auburn sank four straight free throws for a comfortable margin.
Williams scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half. Jamal Johnson scored 14 points with seven assists and JT Thor added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Auburn played its fourth straight game without freshman sensation Sharife Cooper (sprained ankle). Cooper led the Tigers this season with a 20.2 points per game average in the 12 games he played.
Tolu Smith scored 20 points to lead Mississippi State (14-13, 8-10).
› No. 12 Arkansas 87, Texas A&M 80
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Moses Moody scored 28 points, Jalen Tate added 22 and Arkansas beat Texas A&M to match the program’s longest SEC winning streak at 11 games.
The Razorbacks also won 11 straight SEC games in 1993-94 en route to a national championship.
Arkansas (21-5, 13-4) trailed by two until Moody sank a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left, prompting Texas A&M to take a timeout. Davone Davis stole the ensuing inbound pass, then threw it up the court to Justin Smith, who threw down an emphatic, two-handed dunk.
Quenton Jackson’s 3-point try from the corner on the next possession rimmed out, and Arkansas finished the game from the free-throw line.
Moody, a freshman, tied his career high for points, while Tate finished three points shy of his best. Neither team led by more than three points from the 13-minute mark until J.D. Notae’s free throws after Jackson’s miss.
Moody and Tate torched Texas A&M for 29 of Arkansas’ 38 points at halftime on a combined 10-of-18 shooting. Texas A&M had an 18-2 run in the first, though, and led by three at the break.
Seconds before the under12 timeout of the second half, Moody found Tate at the elbow, and the senior made a jumper to give Arkansas its first lead, 58-57.
Texas A&M (8-9, 2-8) relied on a trio. Jackson (23 points), Emmanuel Miller (23) and Savion Flagg (16) combined for 60 points.
› LSU 86, Missouri 80
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Trendon Watford scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half, and his short jumper with just more than a minute left broke a final tie as LSU battled past Missouri to end the regular season.
Cameron Thomas scored 29 points, making 10 of 12 shots at the line, to lead LSU (16-8, 11-6). Javonte Smart added 13 points and Darius Days had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Dru Smith led Mizzou (15-8, 8-8) with 17 points.
› Ole Miss 56, Vanderbilt 46
OXFORD, Miss. — Jarkel Joiner had 15 points and Romello White added 11 to help Ole Miss beat Vanderbilt.
The Rebels (15-10, 10-8) pulled away to a 34-22 halftime lead with a 18-6 run to end the period. The Commodores (8-15, 3-13) scored the opening basket of the second half, and then Ole Miss scored 15 straight points over a 9 1/2 minute span while Vanderbilt missed eight straight field-goal attempts and committed eight turnovers.
Vanderbilt ended the drought on Issac McBride’s 3-pointer with 10:06 left in the game and the Commodores used a 17-2 run to get within 53-44 with 1:54 left.
McBride was 4-for-7 from 3-point range and made all four of his foul shots to score 16 points for Vanderbilt. Jordan Wright added 11.