ATHENS, Ga. -- Nemanja Djurisic scored 15 points, Marcus Thornton added 14 and Georgia stretched its SEC winning streak to five in a row with a 70-62 victory over Vanderbilt on Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs (14-5, 5-2) broke open a tight game with a 9-0 run early in the second half, capped by Yante Maten's three-point play.
Georgia got plenty of production in the first half with a different kind of trey, going 7 of 12 beyond the arc. The Bulldogs finished 9 of 17.
Vanderbilt (11-9, 1-6) lost its sixth consecutive since opening SEC play with a victory over Auburn, shooting just 36 percent from the field. The Commodores got as close as four down the stretch before Georgia sealed the victory at the free-throw line, finishing 23 of 25.
Damian Jones led Vandy with 16 points.
The first half featured 10 lead changes and a couple of ties, neither team getting up by more than six as Georgia settled for a 31-27 lead at the break.
The Commodores hit the first two baskets after halftime to even the score again, and went ahead for the final time when Jeff Roberson hit a three-pointer to make it 36-35 with 171/2 minutes remaining.
Georgia took control from there. J.J. Frazier converted a three-point play, Kenny Gaines hit a three-pointer after stealing the ball from Josh Henderson, and Maten's basket and free throw capped the run, pushing the Bulldogs ahead 44-36.
Vanderbilt missed five consecutive shots and turned it over three times before Shelton Mitchell broke a drought of nearly 51/2 minutes with a couple of free throws.
Georgia stretched the lead to 14 points.
Kenny Gaines chipped in with 13 points for the Bulldogs. Frazier, the SEC player of the week coming off a career-best 37 points at Mississippi State, was held to 12 points on 2-of-7 shooting.
Roberson and Luke Kornet had 11 points apiece for the Commodores.
FLORIDA 52, ALABAMA 50
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Dorian Finney-Smith slammed home a dunk with 17 seconds remaining as Florida held off a furious second-half comeback by Alabama to beat the Crimson Tide.
Eli Carter scored 13 points and Chris Walker finished with 12 for Florida (11-9, 4-3), which snapped a three-game SEC losing streak.
With the score tied at 50-50, Finney-Smith put in his game-winning dunk, then blocked a potential tying basket by Levi Randolph and grabbed the rebound to preserve the victory. The dunk was Finney-Smith's only points of the game.
Rodney Cooper scored 14 points for Alabama (13-7, 3-4) and Ricky Tarrant tallied 13 points.
TEXAS A&M 71, AUBURN 61
AUBURN, Ala. -- Danuel House scored 23 points and hit six three-pointers to lead streaking Texas A&M to a victory over Auburn.
The Aggies (14-5, 5-2) never trailed on their way to a fifth consecutive victory.
House got off to a hot start and missed only one three-point attempt after coming in averaging 18.6 points over the last five games. The rest of the damage was mostly done in the paint, where Texas A&M outscored the Tigers (10-10, 2-5) 42-14.
Jalen Jones added 13 points for the Aggies while Alex Robinson drove to the basket repeatedly and scored 12.
TOP 25
NO. 14 VCU 72,
GEORGE WASHINGTON 48
RICHMOND, Va. -- Freshman Terry Larrier scored 15 points and No. 14 Virginia Commonwealth pulled away with a 16-2 run early in the second half to beat George Washington for its 12th consecutive victory.
Larrier's point total was his highest since conference play began for the Rams (17-3, 7-0 Atlantic 10), and it came on a night when Virginia Commonwealth scoring leader Treveon Graham managed just seven points on a still-tender left ankle and struggling Melvin Johnson continued to do so, scoring eight on 4-of-10 shooting.
Kethan Savage scored 18 to lead George Washington (16-5, 6-2) and Joe McDonald had 11.
The Colonials went behind for good when Virginia Commonwealth scored 12 of the last 14 points of the first half to lead 29-21 at the intermission. After George Washington used a 6-2 burst to get within 31-27 early in the second half, the Rams turned up their defensive pressure and turned the contest into a runaway.
NO. 17 WEST VIRGINIA 65, KANSAS STATE 59
MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Tarik Phillip matched a career-high 12 points and West Virginia, relying on its high-pressure defense, shut down Kansas State.
In a game marred by fouls and poor play, the Mountaineers (17-3, 5-2 Big 12) forced the Wildcats (12-9, 5-3) into 25 turnovers while holding them to 36 percent shooting from the field.
West Virginia's leading scorer, Juwan Staten, had just 11 points while dealing with foul trouble all night. Second-leading scorer Devin Williams had eight points and nine rebounds.
The Wildcats played most of the way without Nino Williams, who had been averaging 21 points his last two games. The senior forward appeared to be dealing with a left knee injury, spending time on a stationary bike and then wrapping it in ice during the second half.
Marcus Foster led the Wildcats with 15 points.
OKLAHOMA STATE 64,
NO. 20 BAYLOR 53
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Phil Forte scored 16 points and Le'Bryan Nash added 13 to help Oklahoma State defeat No. 20 Baylor.
Forte, a 5-foot-11 shooting guard, made 4 of 7 three-pointers and matched a career high with five rebounds for the Cowboys, who claimed their second victory over a ranked opponent this season.
Anthony Hickey had eight points and a career-high 10 assists and freshman Tavarius Shine added a season-high 11 points for the Cowboys (14-6, 4-4 Big 12).
Lester Medford scored 13 points, Taurean Prince added 12 and Rico Gathers added 11 points and 11 rebounds for Baylor (15-5, 3-4), which had won four of five.
XAVIER 66,
NO. 21 GEORGETOWN 53
WASHINGTON -- Myles Davis scored 19 points in his third start of the season, and Xavier held No. 21 Georgetown without a field goal for more than 11 minutes in the first half in a victory that completed a sweep of the Hoyas.
Davis went 6 for 9 from the field, including back-to-back three-pointers to cap an 18-4 run in which the Musketeers totally shut down Georgetown's motion offense. Aaron Bowen made a layup with 11:17 remaining in the first half, and the Hoyas didn't make another field goal until Isaac Copeland's mid-range buzzer-beater made the score 29-16 at halftime.
Georgetown got as close as seven late in the second half, but the Hoyas went cold again -- going more than three minutes without a field goal -- as Xavier (14-7, 5-4 Big East) closed with a 12-6 run to snap a five-game road losing streak.
Sports on 01/28/2015