ATHENS, Georgia – Alabama seemed commonplace when it was losing its strength as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country.
When long-range shots began to fall, Alabama again looked like the SEC champion.
Herbert Jones had two baskets in a 9-0 run to open the second half that gave No. 8 Alabama the lead in his journey to an 89-79 victory over Georgia 89-79 on Saturday.
Alabama led just 82-79 before Keon Ellis, a reserve guard, hit a three-pointer with 46 seconds remaining. It was one of eight three points out of 10 attempts in the second half for Alabama, after making only 2 of 12 attempts in the first half.
“What [three-pointer] it was huge, “said Alabama coach Nate Oats.
Jahvon Quinerly led Alabama with 18 points. John Petty Jr. was 15 and Jaden Shackelford finished with 14.
Alabama (21-6, 16-2) overcame 22 losses and the slow start to match his school record for SEC wins in the 1986-87 season.
Quinerly blamed a slow first time on “not being ready to play 100%” and “some stupid mistakes”.
“In the second half, we took better care of the ball and made it move a little more, and obviously the attack took care of itself,” said Quinerly.
Georgia (14-11, 7-11) led 14 in the first half, but failed to keep pace. Sahvir Wheeler led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Freshman KD Johnson was 16.
Georgia coach Tom Crean said Ellis’ key shot was proof of Alabama’s depth when he said he was “the real breaker” at the conference.
LSU 86, MISSOURI 80
COLOMBIA, Missouri – Trendon Watford scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half and his jumper with just over a minute broke the final tie with LSU battling Missouri to end the regular season.
Cameron Thomas scored 29 points, making 10 of 12 on the line, to lead LSU (16-8, 11-6). Javonte Smart had 13 points and Darius Dias had 12 points and nine rebounds.
Dru Smith led Mizzou with 17 points. He only had 1 of 3 shots in the second half, but hit 7 of 7 on the line. Xavier Pinson scored 11 of his 14 points after the break, including a pair of free throws that pulled Missouri into 80-78.
Van Buren’s Mitchell Smith scored in a throwback from a Pinson fault and tied the game at 80 with 1:20 remaining, but Watford responded with his jump in the paint and LSU made four free throws in the final 22 seconds.
LSU won third place in the ranking and waved goodbye in the quarter-final round of the SEC tournament next week in Nashville. It is LSU’s third double goodbye in so many years.
AUBURN 78,
MISSISSIPPI STATE 71
AUBURN, Alabama. – Allen Flanigan (Little Rock Parkview) scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half and Auburn retired late to beat Mississippi State and give Bruce Pearl his 600th coaching victory at the end of the Tigers season.
With no veterans and only two veterans in the squad, Auburn did not stage a Senior Day, and the Tigers (13-14, 7-11) announced in November that they were imposing a post-season ban as a result of a long – running NCAA investigation. . But they found reason to celebrate after the victory over the Bulldogs, while Pearl danced on the central court, surrounded by his players.
Pearl is the 63rd coach in the history of Division I and the 21st active coach to achieve 600 wins. Pearl’s 26-year coaching record is 600-237. This is his seventh season at Auburn.
The lead went back and forth in the second half, until Auburn grabbed the lead for good in a bucket of Jaylin Williams. The lead was seven after a Williams dunk with 47 seconds remaining. After an MSU basket, Auburn hit four consecutive free throws for a comfortable margin.
Williams scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half. Jamal Johnson scored 14 points with seven assists and JT Thor added 10 points and nine rebounds.
The State of Mississippi (14-13, 8-10) ended the first half with a 10-2 run to lead 34-32, behind Tolu Smith’s 13 points.
KENTUCKY 92,
SOUTH CAROLINA 64
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Davion Mintz and Brandon Boston Jr. set career records with six points each and Kentucky beat South Carolina at the end of the regular season.
Mintz finished with 20 points and seven assists, with five of his three points in the first five minutes of the second half, including three in a row to propel the Wildcats (9-15, 8-9) to a 19 point advantage, 55-36. Boston scored 21 points. Olivier Sarr added 15 points and Isaiah Jackson 13 points with 10 rebounds.
Kentucky overcame the Gamecocks 16-6 in the final nine minutes of the first half, with Sarr scoring six points during the race. Boston had a trio of three points and 12 points at halftime and Sarr 11. Kentucky scored nine points in upset losses and did not give up on his way to a 36-28 lead at halftime.
Keyshawn Bryant scored 16 points and Jayyn McCreary 14 points for Gamecocks (6-14, 4-12), who hasn’t won at the Rupp Arena since 2009.
MISSISSIPPI 56,
VANDERBILT 46
OXFORD, miss. – Jarkel Joiner scored 15 points out of 6 out of 13 shots as he led the Mississippi in victory over Vanderbilt.
Mississippi (15-10, 10-8) had a 34-22 lead in the break from the regular season finale for both teams.
Issac McBride (Baptist Prep) hit four points and scored 16 points for Vanderbilt’s team (8-15, 3-13).