SEC/TOP 25 MEN
LSU 73, MISSISSIPPI 63
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Tim Quarterman had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and LSU pulled into a fourth-place tie in the Southeastern Conference with a 73-63 victory over Mississippi on Saturday.
Quarterman's triple-double was the first by an LSU player since Shaquille O'Neal did it against BYU in the 1992 NCAA tournament.
Jarell Martin added 18 points and Keith Hornsby 16 for the Tigers (21-8, 10-6 SEC), who won their third consecutive overall while sweeping the two-game season series with Ole Miss.
Jordan Mickey added 11 points -- all in the second half -- and blocked four shots.
Stefan Moody scored 15 and Sebastian Saiz had 11 for Ole Miss (19-10, 10-6), which came in with a school-record four consecutive road victories in SEC play.
LSU pulled even with both Ole Miss and Georgia in the league standings. The top four seeds get a double-bye in the SEC tournament.
The Tigers trailed by as many as 11 during a sloppy first half but executed far better during the final 20 minutes.
Early in the second half, Jalyn Patterson's corner three gave LSU a 31-29 lead, marking the first time the Tigers had been in front since leading 15-14.
The Tigers continued the onslaught, putting together an 11-0 run, capped by Mickey's first points of the game, which made it 36-29 with about 15 minutes left.
Ole Miss briefly pulled to 44-40 before LSU strung together a 10-2 run that began with Quarterman's three-point play and ended with Hornsby's three. In between, Mickey scored twice, including a put-back dunk.
Mickey missed his first seven shots, many from inside.
The Rebels raced to the first double-digit lead of the game with a 12-0 run that began with Anthony Perez's three and ended with his free throw, making it 26-15.
The Tigers settled down after that, however, gradually trimming their deficit to four when Quarterman's free throws made it 27-23, a score that stood until halftime.
GEORGIA 68, MISSOURI 44
ATHENS, Ga. -- Nemanja Djurisic scored 14 points and Georgia strengthened its NCAA tournament hopes with a runaway victory over Missouri.
Georgia (19-9, 10-6 SEC) has won three consecutive games, including road victories against Alabama and Mississippi, since back-to-back disappointing home losses to Auburn and South Carolina.
Missouri (8-21, 2-14) couldn't manage a second consecutive victory after ending a 13-game losing streak by beating Florida 64-52 on Tuesday night. The Tigers, last in the SEC, struggled with poor shooting while quickly falling behind by double figures in the first half.
VANDERBILT 73, ALABAMA 66
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Wade Baldwin IV scored 15 points, and the Vanderbilt Commodores rallied from 14 points down in beating Alabama for their third consecutive victory.
The Commodores (17-12, 7-9 SEC) now are 6-2 in February after losing their last seven in January.
Matthew Fisher-Davis scored 13 points, James Siakam had 12 and Luke Kornet added 11 for the Commodores.
Retin Obasohan scored 16 points for Alabama (17-12, 7-9). Levi Randolph added 13 points, Rodney Cooper had 12 and Michael Kessens 10.
SOUTH CAROLINA 81, MISSISSIPPI STATE 68
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Tyrone Johnson scored a career-high 28 points to lead South Carolina to an 81-68 victory over Mississippi State.
The Gamecocks (14-14, 5-11 SEC) led for the final 37 minutes to break a two-game losing streak and climb into 11th place in the SEC.
Mississippi State (12-17, 5-11) trailed by four with 17 minutes to go, but Laimonas Chatkevicius hit seven of the next eight points to put South Carolina ahead 52-38 with 15 minutes left. The Gamecocks would lead by at least nine the rest of the way.
FLORIDA 66, TENNESSEE 49
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Dorian Finney-Smith had 20 points and 10 rebounds in his first game back from suspension, and Florida beat Tennessee 66-49 to give Coach Billy Donovan his 500th career victory.
Donovan reached the milestone at home as the Gators (14-15, 7-9 SEC) won for just the second time in eight games.
Tennessee (14-14, 6-10) lost its fifth consecutive and ninth in 11 games. Armani Moore led the Vols with 18 points.
In Top 25 men's games Saturday, Malcolm Brogdon scored 19 points and No. 2 Virginia assured itself at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship with a 69-57 victory against Virginia Tech. ... Kris Jenkins' back-to-back three-pointers started a late run that rallied No. 6 Villanova to its 10th consecutive victory, 78-66, over Xavier. ... Perry Ellis had 28 points and 13 rebounds in a brilliant performance, and No. 8 Kansas held on through a tense final minute to beat Texas 69-64. ... Ron Baker scored 17 points to help No. 11 Wichita State beat No. 10 Northern Iowa 74-60 and win the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. ... Wesley Iwundu capped a 22-9 scoring run with a two-handed slam that gave Kansas State a 70-69 victory over No. 12 Iowa State. ... Melo Trimble scored 19 points, and No. 14 Maryland beat Michigan 66-56 to complete an undefeated season at home in the Big Ten. ... Brice Johnson had five dunks and 22 points to help No. 15 North Carolina end a streak of four consecutive losses against Miami with a 73-64 victory. ... Buddy Hield had 21 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to help No. 16 Oklahoma rally and beat TCU 67-60. ... Wayne Blackshear scored 18 points and Montrezl Harrell added 16 points as No. 17 Louisville cruised to an 81-59 victory over Florida State. ... Taurean Prince scored 20 points, Rico Gathers had another double-double and No. 19 Baylor won its fourth consecutive game, leading throughout in a 78-66 victory over injury-plagued No. 20 West Virginia. ... Jordan Sibert scored 19 points as Dayton held off a second-half comeback from No. 22 Virginia Commonwealth to win 59-55. ... Kellen Dunham scored 24 points, and No. 23 Butler beat DePaul 67-53 to take sole possession of second place in the Big East.
Sports on 03/01/2015