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GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Omar Payne had the best game of his college career, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and led Florida to a 69-47 victory over No. 4 Auburn on Saturday. Payne was widely considered an afterthought in Florida's highly touted recruiting class. The freshman looked like a future lottery pick against the Tigers. He dominated the paint by scoring on tip-ins, putbacks and layups. His three-point play put Florida up 14 with a little more than 4 minutes to play. The Tigers have lost two in a row since starting 15-0. Danjel Purifoy led Auburn with 10 points.
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Javonte Smart scored 20 points as LSU wiped out a six-point deficit in the final seven minutes to defeat Mississippi 80-76 and remain unbeaten in Southeastern Conference play. LSU converted 24 of 27 free throws (88.9%), including two apiece by Marlon Taylor and Skylar Mays in the final 24 seconds to complete the comeback. Breein Tyree had a career-high 36 points for Ole Miss. Tyree was 9 of 9 from the free-throw line but the Rebels finished a season-worst 9 of 19 (47%), including seven consecutive misses to open the second half.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — John Petty scored 20 points and Alex Reese and Jaden Shackelford each had 17 to lead Alabama to an 88-74 victory over Missouri. The Crimson Tide built a 12-point second-half lead and then withstood challenges to punctuate a week that included handing No. 4 Auburn its first loss. The final margin was the game's biggest. Missouri pulled to within three points several times, the last on Reed Nikko's basket with 6:34 left. That was as close as the Tigers could come despite making all 31 free throw attempts, a Southeastern Conference record.
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Reggie Perry and Tyson Carter combined for 40 points and Mississippi State cruised to a 91-59 victory over Georgia. It was the largest margin of victory over Georgia in Mississippi State's program history. Perry had 22 points and 12 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. Carter finished with 18 points with four 3-pointers. Anthony Edwards scored 19 points to lead Georgia.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Jair Bolden scored 19 points and South Carolina defeated Texas A&M 81-67. The Gamecocks made 16-of-30 of their 3-point attempts (53.3%), in keeping the Aggies at arms’ length for most of the second part of the second half. South Carolina led 39-33 at halftime thanks to 10 points each from Justin Minaya and Bolden over the first 20 minutes. The Aggies briefly grabbed a lead at 49-48 nearly midway through the second half before the Gamecocks reclaimed the lead for good. Josh Nebo led the Aggies with 18 points.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jordan Bowden scored 21 points, and the Tennessee Volunteers beat Vanderbilt 66-45 for their fifth straight win against the Commodores for their longest winning streak in this in-state rivalry in 38 years. Tennessee won 10 straight against Vanderbilt between 1978 and 1982. Vanderbilt now has lost 22 straight SEC regular-season games. Worse, the Commodores snapped a streak of 1,080 straight games over 34 years making at least one 3-pointer going 0 of 25 outside the arc. That leaves UNLV and Princeton as the only schools to make at least one 3-pointer since the shot was added to the game.
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