Alabama picks up ninth win in a row

Alabama's Herbert Jones puts his arms around teammates in the final minute of Alabama's NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Alabama's Herbert Jones puts his arms around teammates in the final minute of Alabama's NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 18 Alabama faced down a challenge and kept its winning streak alive, if not the Crimson Tide's string of blowouts.

Herbert Jones had 17 points and seven assists to help Alabama win its ninth consecutive game with an 81-73 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday. This one wasn't decided until the last minute for a team that had won its past three games by an average of 27 points.

"It's actually good to play some close games," Alabama Coach Nate Oats said. "We had been hitting shots at a pretty high clip and blowing teams out so it's good to have to execute some late-game stuff."

The Tide (13-3, 8-0) has won eight consecutive SEC games for the first time since starting league play 8-0 in the 1986-87 season.

This one didn't come as easily as recent wins over Kentucky, Arkansas and LSU.

The Bulldogs (9-7, 4-4) cut an 11-point second-half deficit down to three in the final minute, but John Petty Jr. answered with a three-pointer with 32 seconds left.

Petty, the program's career leader in three-pointers, made sure Alabama didn't have to sweat too much.

"We think every shot he takes is going to go in," said teammate Alex Reese, who had 11 points. "After the game he told me he should have hit me for one more. I said, 'No you shouldn't have.' "

Freshman guard Joshua Primo scored 16 points and made four first-half three-pointers for the Tide.

Jones also had four steals and three blocked shots. Petty scored 12 points on four three-pointers and Jaden Shackelford also had 12 for the Tide.

D.J. Stewart Jr. led Mississippi State with 27 points and Iverson Molinar added 19, but Stewart shot 9 of 21 and Molinar just 5 of 19.

Tolu Smith had eight points and nine rebounds.

Cameron Matthews stole a long inbounds pass and made a layup with 58 seconds left for Mississippi State before Petty's back-breaking three-pointer.

"I thought our guys really played hard and really played tough," Bulldogs Coach Ben Howland said. "We battled and went after every 50-50 ball with all our might. I think there were a lot of positives today even though we lost the game."

AUBURN 109,

SOUTH CAROLINA 86

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Allen Flanigan (Little Rock Parkview) scored a career-high 24 points with four three-pointers, Sharife Cooper had a double-double by halftime and Auburn defeated South Carolina for its first win on the Gamecocks home floor since 2014.

Auburn put up its most points in a SEC road win in program history.

Cooper, a freshman who was granted eligibility by the NCAA Jan. 9, scored 16 points and had 12 assists for his second career double-double. He already had 10 points and 11 assists in the books in the first 20 minutes.

Jaylin Williams scored 18 points with seven rebounds, JT Thor added 14 points and seven rebounds and Devan Cambridge scored 10 as the Tigers (9-7, 3-5) made 40 of 77 field goals (52%), including 14 of 27 from beyond the three-point arc. The Tigers made 15 of 16 free throws to round out the dominating scoring effort.

KENTUCKY 82, LSU 69

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Keion Brooks Jr. had 13 of his season-high 15 points in the first half, Brandon Boston Jr. added 13 of his 18 points in the second half, and Kentucky trailed for just 15 seconds in its victory over LSU, snapping a three-game skid.

Kentucky (5-9, 4-3), which had a six-game losing streak earlier this season, got a much-needed win in the first of a five-game stretch against Top-40 teams. The Wildcats avoided their third four-game slide under Coach John Calipari.

Olivier Sarr made a layup and Brooks made two free throws to give Kentucky the lead for good before Davion Mintz and Boston hit back-to-back three-pointers to make it 12-4. The Wildcats set season highs for a half with 13 assists, 6 three-pointers, and 49 points while taking a 13-point lead into the break.

Trendon Watford tied his career best with 26 points and added a season-high tying 10 rebounds, and freshman Cameron Thomas scored 18 for LSU (10-4, 5-3). Thomas, who went into the game averaging 22.0 points (No. 8 nationally), made 1 of 8 from three-point range as the Tigers made just 4 of 23.

FLORIDA 82, GEORGIA 84

ATHENS, Ga. -- Tre Mann scored a career-high 24 points and Florida broke away from Georgia.

Noah Locke added 16 points, making four three-pointers, Colin Castleton scored 14, Tyree Appleby (Jacksonville) 14 and Omar Payne 10 for the Gators (8-4, 5-3) who have now won two in a row after upending No. 6 Tennessee earlier in the week.

Florida has won five of six in Georgia under Coach Mike White and Saturday scored the most points in regulation at Georgia since 1994. The hot-shooting Gators finished at 57% from the floor (37 of 65) with seven three-pointers and making 11 of 17 at the line.

Andrew Garcia scored 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting and K.D. Johnson added 16 to pace Georgia (9-5, 2-5), which saw a modest two-game win streak end. Justin Kier scored 14 points, Toumani Camara 11 and Sahvir Wheeler 10 for the Bulldogs.

Mann scored 17 points after halftime as Florida broke open a 42-39 lead.

MISSISSIPPI 61,

TEXAS A&M 50

OXFORD, Miss. -- Jarkel Joiner scored 21 points with seven rebounds and Devontae Shuler scored 17 and Mississippi beat Texas A&M.

Kevin Marfo's layup with 1:55 left before the halftime gave Texas A&M a 28-23 lead. From there, Ole Miss (8-6, 3-4) proceeded to go on a 20-2 run from which the Aggies (7-6, 2-5) never regrouped. Texas A&M didn't score again until Emanuel Miller's jump shot with almost five minutes gone after intermission.

Miller scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Aggies.

Alabama forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton (22) gets a rebound over Mississippi State forward Javian Davis (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Alabama forward Keon Ambrose-Hylton (22) gets a rebound over Mississippi State forward Javian Davis (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Mississippi State guard/forward Cameron Matthews (4) shoots by Alabama guard John Petty Jr. (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Mississippi State guard/forward Cameron Matthews (4) shoots by Alabama guard John Petty Jr. (23) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Mississippi State guard/forward Cameron Matthews (4) works the ball downcourt against Alabama during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Mississippi State guard/forward Cameron Matthews (4) works the ball downcourt against Alabama during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Alabama coach Nate Oats watches as the team tried to protect a 3-point lead in the final minute against Mississippi State in an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Alabama coach Nate Oats watches as the team tried to protect a 3-point lead in the final minute against Mississippi State in an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Alabama head coach Nate Oats argues with the referee, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Alabama head coach Nate Oats argues with the referee, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland directs his team  during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Alabama, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Mississippi State head coach Ben Howland directs his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Alabama, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Mississippi State forward Tolu Smith (35) grabs a rebound as Alabama forward/guard Herbert Jones (1) reaches in during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
Mississippi State forward Tolu Smith (35) grabs a rebound as Alabama forward/guard Herbert Jones (1) reaches in during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

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