Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Immanuel Quickley had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, No. 8 Kentucky outscored No. 15 Auburn 20-3 during a first-half stretch to go ahead and held on to win 73-66 and clinch the Southastern Conference regular season championship. The Wildcats had to overcome a 20-11 deficit before responding with the big run over 5:47 and build an eight-point advantage. Auburn fought back to within 53-50 early in the second half, but Kentucky made 14 free throws down the stretch _ including seven by Quickley. J'Von McCormick had 13 points for Auburn.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Tyson Carter scored 15 points to lead Mississippi State to a 67-63 victory over Missouri. After the Tigers cut the Bulldogs’ lead to two points in the final minute, Carter drove the lane and made a finger-roll layup to give Mississippi State (19-10, 10-6 Southeastern Conference) a cushion. Reggie Perry and Nick Weatherspoon each scored 12 points. Xavier Pinson led the Tigers (14-15, 6-10) with 20 points, Dru Smith scored 19 and Mitchell Smith added 10.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — John Fulkerson scored 22 points, including the first 3-pointer of his career, as Tennessee held off a furious Florida comeback attempt to register its best win of the season with a 63-58 victory over the rival Gators. Tennessee (16-13, 8-8 SEC) led by 19 points with nine minutes remaining, but saw the Gators claw back behind Tre Mann and Kerry Blackshear Jr. Florida (18-11, 10-6) got as close as one point in the final three minutes, but Fulkerson made some clutch plays and the Vols hit enough free throws down the stretch to register their best win of the season. Josiah-Jordan James finished with 12 points for the Vols, Vescovi scored 11 and Jordan Bowden had 10.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Skylar Mays scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half and LSU defeated Texas A&M 64-50. Javonte Smart scored 14 points. His three 3-pointers in the first half helped LSU open an early 13-point lead. Savion Flagg scored 17 and Josh Nebo added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Aggies, who lost their second straight game on the heels of a three-game winning streak. LSU won for just the third time in eight games but now has 20 victories on the season as the Tigers seek to bolster their NCAA Tournament credentials.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Kira Lewis Jr. scored 25 points and freshman Javian Davis had a season-high 20 to help Alabama rebound from a slow start to beat South Carolina 90-86. Davis finished his biggest game of the season by making the second of two free throws with four seconds left to help the Crimson Tide overcome the absence of injured guard John Petty after an early 12-point deficit. Beetle Bolden and Jaden Shackelford each made two free throws over the final 25 seconds after the Gamecocks staged their own comeback in the final minutes. Keyshawn Bryant led South Carolina with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Devontae Shuler scored 18 points and KJ Buffen scored 17 points to lead Ole Miss to an 86-60 victory over Vanderbilt. Ole Miss shot 55% from the field (35 of 64) and hit nine 3-pointers. Vanderbilt allowed a 13-1 run to open the game, then hit four straight 3s, two by Scotty Pippen, Jr., to tie the game at 13. The two teams traded leads twice over the next few minutes, but a 19-5 run late in the half put the Rebels up 43-27 at the break, and they never trailed in the second half. Ejike Obinna led the Commodores with 13 points
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 26 points, including nine straight in the final 67 seconds to lead Georgia to a 99-89 win over Arkansas in a Southeastern Conference. Georgia (15-14, 5-11) placed six players in double figures, including Rayshawn Hammonds with 22. Arkansas got 26 apiece from Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones. Desi Sills added 21 but was injured with less than a minute to play and did not return to the game.
UNDATED (AP) — No. 8 Kentucky is set to host No. 15 Auburn to highlight the Southeastern Conference's weekend slate of games. The Wildcats have won seven in a row and can secure at least a share of the regular season SEC title with a victory. The Tigers won the first match-up 75-66 on Feb. 1, their second straight victory over Kentucky and fourth in the last seven meetings. Since that loss the Wildcats have won five times by a total of 31 points. Kentucky's streak is its longest this season and has been led by guard Immanuel Quickley, who has averaged 21.5 points during the run.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
