NO. 15 KENTUCKY 67, ALABAMA 58
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Kentucky went from a shootout to a defensive grinder this week, and won both ways.
Now, Coach John Calipari and the 15th-ranked Wildcats want to put it all together by the postseason.
Isaiah Briscoe had 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists to help Kentucky weather one of its lowest scoring outputs and beat Alabama 67-58 on Saturday.
"We were worried about just playing hard, showing energy, having the world look at us and say, 'These guys care. These guys can be good defensively,' " Calipari said. "But they've got to be engaged in it. It's got to be about defense first, and it was.
"And we stunk offensively."
The Wildcats (20-5, 10-2), fresh from a 92-85 shootout victory over LSU, found a way to win at a much different tempo after dropping three of their last five games.
Malik Monk added 17 points against the Crimson Tide (14-10, 7-5), who were coming off a quadruple-overtime road upset of No. 19 South Carolina.
Monk's free throws in the final seconds put Kentucky above its season low of 66 points in a loss to No. 17 Florida a week earlier. The Wildcats came in ranked third nationally in scoring at 90.2 points a game.
"This is like, OK, you really zero in on one thing and what happens?" Calipari said. "Like two other things fall apart."
Bam Adebayo scored 14 points before fouling out with 6:02 left and Kentucky leading 50-39. Briscoe scored nine points after the half, including key baskets down the stretch. He was just 1 of 7 from the free throw line, though.
Braxton Key led Alabama with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting. Dazon Ingram scored 12 and Riley Norris nine, but the Tide didn't get much offensive production beyond them.
NO. 17 FLORIDA 71, TEXAS A&M 62
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Justin Leon scored 18 points, Canyon Barry added 12 and No. 17 Florida overcame a lackluster start to beat Texas A&M.
John Egbunu notched his first double-double of the season, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds, as the Gators (20-5, 10-2) won their sixth consecutive game. After winning each of the last five by double digits, this one was considerably closer than most expected.
The Aggies (13-11, 5-7) led 42-41 midway through the second half and looked like they might get their first victory in five tries against a ranked team this season. But Florida used a 24-10 run to take the lead and pull away. It started and ended with three-pointers by Leon, who finished one point shy of tying his career high.
The senior made 7 of 15 shots, including four from behind the arc.
NO. 19 SOUTH CAROLINA 77, MISSISSIPPI STATE 73
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Sindarius Thornwell scored 28 points, Chris Silva added 15 and No. 19 South Carolina made a late surge to beat Mississippi State.
The Gamecocks (20-5, 10-2) bounced back from a 90-86 four-overtime loss to Alabama on Tuesday. This game was close and hard-fought, too: Mississippi State led 64-63 with 5:17 remaining, but the Gamecocks scored the next nine points to pull away for the road victory.
Mississippi State (14-10, 5-7) was led by freshman Tyson Carter, who scored a career-high 22 points. Quinndary Weatherspoon — the Bulldogs’ leading scorer who averages more than 17 per game — was held to just five points. Thornwell was coming off a 44-point, 21-rebound performance in the Alabama loss. He was nearly as dominant during Saturday’s first half, scoring the Gamecocks’ first 10 points on the way to 19 before halftime.
MISSOURI 72, VANDERBILT 52
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Jordan Barnett tied a career-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help Missouri defeat Vanderbilt.
Kevin Puryear had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Russell Woods added 10 points and five rebounds.
Missouri (7-17, 2-10) led 35-29 at halftime after shooting 50 percent from three-point range in the first half. Back-to-back three-pointers from Kevin Puryear sparked an 11-0 run to give the Tigers a seven-point lead, its largest of the game.
Luke Kornet led the way for Vanderbilt with 11 points and five rebounds. Matthew Fisher-Davis, who entered the game averaging 15.6 points per game, scored just eight points on 1-of-5 shooting. The Commodores (12-13, 5-7) entered the game leading the SEC in three-pointers made, but struggled from distance, shooting just 21.4 percent (6-28), including 1-for-15 in the second half.
GEORGIA 76, TENNESSEE 75
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- J.J. Frazier scored 20 of his 29 points after halftime as Georgia erased a 14-point, second-half deficit to beat Tennessee and snap a three-game losing streak.
The comeback enabled Georgia (14-11, 5-7) to change its frustrating recent track record in road games. Georgia had lost its last four road contests by a total of 16 points.
Tennessee (14-11, 6-6) has led by at least 13 points in the second half of each of its last three losses. Grant Williams matched a career high with 30 points for the Volunteers.
Mike Edwards started a 7-0 run that gave Georgia a 70-64 lead. Tennessee got to within 73-71 on Lamonte Turner's three-pointer with 59.5 seconds remaining, but Frazier answered by driving to the basket for a three-point play with 20.8 seconds left.
A Turner three-pointer at the buzzer accounted for the final score.
MISSISSIPPI 90, AUBURN 84
OXFORD, Miss. -- Terence Davis scored 26 points, all after halftime, as Mississippi erased a 23-point second half deficit to defeat Auburn.
Cullen Neal scored 20 points for the Rebels (15-10, 6-6) and Deandre Burnett added 18 points, including 10 free throws in the final 1:17 to preserve the victory. Sebastian Saiz added 10 points and a team-high 8 rebounds for the Rebels.
Auburn (16-9, 5-7) was led by Ronnie Johnson with 18 points, while Mustapha Heron and Danjel Purifoy added 16 and 12 points, respectively.
The Tigers built a 52-29 lead on a three-point shot by Heron with 18:13 left before the decisive surge by the Rebels.
The Rebels led 78-71 on a Davis layup with 2:08 left, setting up 12 consecutive free throws, 10 by Burnett, to seal it. The Rebels finished 27 of 31 (87 percent) from the free throw line and 29 of 66 (43 percent) from the field.
Sports on 02/12/2017