Punter, Vols get past Gators at home

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kevin Punter established the pace in the first half, and Tennessee used the fast start to remain unbeaten at home this season with an 83-69 victory over Florida on Wednesday night.

Tennessee (8-6, 1-1 SEC) made 20 of 39 shots for a 53-31 halftime lead. Punter, the No. 2 scorer in the SEC at 22.8 points per game, made his first seven shots and scored 18 of his game-high 26 points before halftime.

His free throws with 13:03 left to play in the second half gave Tennessee a 64-34 advantage that Florida couldn’t overcome.

Kevaughn Allen ( North Little Rock) led Florida with 18 points.

The Volunteers have won all eight home contests. They snapped a four-game losing streak to Florida (9-5, 1-1) by shooting 47 percent from the floor. The Gators shot 34 percent.

Tennessee freshman Admiral Schofield finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Dorian Finney-Smith had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Devin Robinson added 13 points for the Gators.

In another SEC men’s game Wednesday night, J.J. Frazier scored 16 points to lead Georgia (8-4, 1-1 SEC) past Missouri (7-7, 0-1) 77-59 in Athens, Ga. Kevin Puryear led Missouri with 19 points.

No. 21 Texas A&M 61, Mississippi State 60

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Jalen Jones scored 11 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 20 seconds left, to lead No. 21 Texas A&M over Mississippi State.

Texas A& M ( 12-2, 2- 0), which beat Arkansas in its SEC opener Saturday in College Station, struggled to score for most of the night, but did just enough to earn its fifth consecutive victory. D.J. Hogg and Alex Caruso also each scored 11 points, and Admon Gilder added 10.

It was tied in the final minute when Caruso hit Jones with a pass on the baseline. The 6-foot-7 forward finished with the dunk to give the Aggies a 59-57 lead and they held on for the victory.

Gavin Ware had 15 points and 13 rebounds for Mississippi State (7-6, 0-1). Malik Newman added 14 points.

The Aggies won despite shooting 19 of 62 (30.6) percent from the field.