Florida gets edge on visiting No. 2 Auburn

Tyree Appleby scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half, Colin Castleton added 19 and Florida rallied to beat No. 2 Auburn 63-62 Saturday to extend its home dominance in the series.

The Tigers (24-3, 12-2 Southeastern Conference) lost their second straight on the road and dropped their first game in regulation. They previously lost to UConn and Arkansas in overtime.

Appleby had everything to do with this one, which was Florida’s 14th straight win over Auburn in Gainesville. The senior made 6 of 9 shots in the second half, including four 3s, and was perfect from the free-throw line.

Still, the Tigers had a chance in the final seconds. Wendell Green Jr. got the ball with 7.1 seconds to play and was dribbling at the top of the key when he tried to pass to Walker Kessler down low. The Gators (17-10, 7-7) knocked it away, and the clock ran out.

Jabari Smith scored 28 for Auburn, whose last win in the O’Connell Center came in February 1996. NO. 4 KENTUCKY 90, NO. 25 ALABAMA 81 » Kellan Grady made seven 3s for a seasonhigh 25 points and Oscar Tshiebwe added 21 points with 14 rebounds for the Wildcats, who had to rally twice for the home win.

Short-handed because of injuries to starting guards TyTy Washington Jr. and Sahvir Wheeler, Kentucky (22-5, 11-3 SEC) trailed 46-34 with 3½ minutes remaining before halftime before closing with 13 straight points for its first lead. The Crimson Tide (17-10, 7-7) erased a 54-48 deficit early in the second with eight points in a row to go up by two before Kentucky responded with a 20-2 surge over 5:47 to seize control at 74-58.

NO. 7 BAYLOR 72, TCU 62 » Jeremy Sochan matched his season high with 17 points as five players scored in double figures for the host Bear, who led throughout despite missing two hurting guards.

Baylor (22-5, 10-4 Big 12) played with only six players, except for a two-minute stretch by a seldom-used sophomore in the first half, while bouncing back from a 10-point loss at No. 11 Texas Tech three nights earlier.

Matthew Mayer added 16 points for the Bears. Flo Thamba had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Emanuel Miller and Micah Peavy each had 16 points for TCU (16-8, 5-7). NO. 9 DUKE 88, FLORIDA STATE 70 » Freshman Paolo Banchero scored 17 points as the Blue Devils avenged last month’s one-point overtime loss at Florida State and took sole possession of first place in the ACC.

Reserve Joey Baker provided a big lift for Duke (23-4, 13-3 ACC). He scored 12 points on four first-half 3-pointers and the Blue Devils closed the half on a 12-2 burst to take a 52-41 lead.

Matthew Cleveland scored 16 points to lead the Seminoles (14-12, 7-9).

NO. 10 VILLANOVA 74, GEORGETOWN 66 » Justin Moore scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half to lead the host Wildcats (21-6, 14-3 Big East) to their fifth straight win.

Donald Carey scored 24 points for the Hoyas (6-20, 0-15), who remained winless in the Big East while losing their 16th game in a row. NO. 11 TEXAS TECH 61, NO. 20 TEXAS 55 » Bryson Williams scored 17 points as the visiting Red Raiders held off a late charge to earn a sweep of the regular-season series in the heated rivalry.

Clarence Nadolny added 14 points for Texas Tech (216, 10-4 Big 12), which led by 10 with just over 3 minutes to play before the Longhorns (19-8, 8-6) got within 56-55 with a 9-0 run.

NO. 12 ILLINOIS 79, NO. 19 MICHIGAN STATE 74 » Kofi Cockburn scored 27 points and Jacob Grandison had 24 as the visiting Fighting Illini moved into a firstplace tie with No. 5 Purdue in the Big Ten.

Cockburn scored in double figures for the 36th straight game for Illinois (19-7, 12-4 Big Ten).

Tyson Walker scored 26 points for the Spartans (189, 9-6).