SEC Basketball: Alabama rallies for win against Vanderbilt
by The Associated Press
Feb 03, 2013 | 660 views | 0 0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Alabama’s Trevor Lacey (5) hits a 3-pointer late in Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama won 58-54. (AP)
Alabama’s Trevor Lacey (5) hits a 3-pointer late in Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. Alabama won 58-54. (AP)
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Trevor Lacey hit a 3-pointer with 56.8 seconds left, giving Alabama its first lead of the game, and the Crimson Tide wound up edging Vanderbilt 58-54 Saturday afternoon for their first win at Memorial Gym since 1990 after trailing by as much as 11 in the second half.

Alabama (14-7, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) hadn’t won here since Wimp Sanderson was coach, and it looked like that drought would reach 12 straight for most of the game. But the Tide rallied despite hitting only one field goal after Andrew Steele’s 3-pointer with 5:57 left, and the Tide won for the sixth time in seven games, finishing on an 18-3 run.

Lacey had a game-high 17 points. Steele added 13 points off the bench, and Rodney Cooper had 11.

Vanderbilt (8-12, 2-6) didn’t hit a field goal after Kyle Fuller’s 3-pointer with 7:10 left. Kedren Johnson had 15 points and Fuller 13.

No. 17 Missouri 91, Auburn 77

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Keion Bell scored 24 points and Earnest Ross added 23, both season highs, as No. 17 Missouri used another strong second half to beat Auburn 91-77 on Saturday.

Ross hit five 3-pointers off the bench in his first game against his former team. The 6-foot-5, 222-pound guard played two seasons at Auburn, leading the team with 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

The teams combined for 49 fouls and 69 free throws but the slogging pace didn’t seem to affect Missouri (16-5, 5-3 Southeastern Conference), which shot 54.5 percent from the floor after shooting 38 percent in a 73-70 loss at LSU on Wednesday.

Frankie Sullivan led Auburn (8-13, 2-6) with 12 points, while Rob Chubb and Chris Denson both had 10.

Arkansas 73, Tennessee 60

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — B.J. Young broke out of a recent shooting slump, scoring 23 points and Arkansas improved to 13-1 at home this season with a 73-60 win over Tennessee on Saturday.

Marshawn Powell added 12 points before fouling out for the Razorbacks, which suffered their only home loss this season against No. 6 Syracuse, and Hunter Mickelson finished with 10.

Young had 12 points in the first half for Arkansas (13-8, 4-4 SEC), which scored 27 points off 20 turnovers by the Volunteers. The sophomore’s total was his most since scoring 26 points in a win over Northwestern State on Dec. 29.

Jarnell Stokes led Tennessee (11-9, 3-5) with 18 points, while Kenny Hall added 14 and Josh Richardson 11. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Volunteers.

No. 4 Florida 78,

No. 16 Mississippi 64

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Erik Murphy scored 19 points and was instrumental on the defensive end, helping No. 4 Florida beat 16th-ranked Mississippi 78-64 Saturday night.

Murphy made 7 of 8 shots, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range, and added six rebounds and four assists. Defensively, he took a charge, had a block and altered several shots in the paint.

Pat Young added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Gators (18-2, 8-0 SEC), who won their 10th consecutive game. Mike Rosario (14 points) and Scottie Wilbekin (13) also reached double figures.

Kenny Boynton had nine points and 10 assists, just shy of his first double-double.

Marshall Henderson, the Southeastern Conference’s leading scorer, led the Rebels (17-4, 6-2) with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Henderson was 7 of 11 from behind the arc, hitting several shots with defenders in his face.

LSU 69, Mississippi StATE 68

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Anthony Hickey hit a game-winning layup with 1.4 seconds remaining as LSU rallied to beat Mississippi State 69-68 on Saturday night.

It was the second of two terrific shots by Hickey, who also hit a 15-foot jumper to give LSU a 67-66 lead with 16 seconds left. Mississippi State came right back with Trivante Bloodman’s acrobatic layup to push the Bulldogs ahead 68-67 lead with 7.9 seconds left, but that just set up some more Hickey heroics.

LSU (12-7, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) trailed for nearly the entire game, including a 40-26 deficit at halftime. But the Tigers methodically came back in the second half. Hickey and Johnny O’Bryant led the Tigers with 12 points each.

Mississippi State (7-13, 2-6) has now lost six straight. Gavin Ware led the Bulldogs with 14 points while Bloodman added 12.

Kentucky 72, Texas A&M 68, OT

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Freshman Nerlens Noel had a season-high 19 points and Julius Mays also scored 19, including five in overtime, to lead Kentucky to a 72-68 win over Texas A&M on Saturday.

The Wildcats (15-6, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) led by one point before Mays made two free throws with 15 seconds left. Texas A&M (13-8, 3-5) had a chance to tie it after that, but Elston Turner’s 3-pointer bounced off the rim with 5 seconds left. Mays added another free throw with a second left to secure the win.

The Wildcats opened overtime with a 7-1 run thanks to a jump shot by Noel and five free throws to take a 69-63 lead.

Turner’s 3-pointer with about 2 minutes left in overtime got A&M within 69-66.

Kourtney Roberson’s layup made it 69-68 with 16 seconds left before the free throws by Mays.

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