Saturday SEC Basketball Recap

Let’s take a glance at what went down on Saturday, shall we?

We’ll start down in Georgia. The Georgia Bulldogs fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks, 86-80. The Bulldogs put up an admirable fight after falling behind by 15 at one point in the first half. They got the game close, but never could quite surmount the deficit. Unsurprisingly, A.J. Lawson and Chris Silva were the stars of the game. Lawson scored 19 points and had seven rebounds and two assists, with merely one turnover in 34 minutes. Silva matched that effort in points and had six rebounds, as well. Derek Ogbeide led in points for UGA with 16. — Chris Novak

Elsewhere, the Mississippi State Bulldogs won a frenetic affair with their rivals, the Ole Miss Rebels, down in Oxford. The Bulldogs earned some payback after the Rebels knocked them off earlier in the season in Starkville, returning the favor in the Rebs’ home dome. As expected, it was Quinndary Weatherspoon who took up the task of leading the team to the win. Weatherspoon scored 27 points for the second time in the last three games. He was 5-for7 on 2-point tries, 3-for-6 on 3-pointers and 8-for-9 on free throws. He also had eight boards, two assists, four steals, one block and merely two turnovers in 35 minutes. Breein Tyree had 25 in the losing effort. — Chris Novak

The Kentucky Wildcats rallied from an 11-point deficit with three minutes left in the second half to beat the Florida Gators, 65-54. Tyler Herro had a great game with 19 points, hitting three of four from the perimeter and made 75 percent of his field goals. PJ Washington had yet another a big game, as well, for the Wildcats with a double-double. The forward had 15 points and 12 rebounds in the victory. The Gators’ Andrew Nembhard led the team in points with 12 and Keyontae Johnson led in rebounds with ten. — Niesha Middlebrooks

The LSU Tigers were clipped by the Arkansas Razorbacks in rather heartbreaking fashion. Mason Jones knocked down a jumper with 22 seconds remaining to help lift the Hogs over the Fighting Tigers, 90-89. It’s LSU’s first loss in conference play and first loss in general since an 82-76 defeat at the hands of the Houston Cougars all the way back in December. Naz Reid had a double-double, going up for 19 points and 10 rebounds. Turnovers were costly for Reid, however, as he had five, and they were costly in general for the team, as they collectively committed 21 on their home floor. Daniel Gafford had 23 points and eight boards for the Hogs, while the hero Jones had 10. Isaiah Joe scored 18, while Jalen Harris had 11, and Keyshawn Embery-Simpson gave them 16 off the bench. — Chris Novak

The Auburn Tigers hit their stride again as they defeated their arch nemesis, the Alabama Crimson Tide, 83-64 at Auburn Arena. The Tigers got 23 points from Bryce Brown, who went 5-of-7 from 3-point land. Jared Harper, meanwhile, scored 19 points, going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and 6-for-7 from the FT line. Harper also had five assists, which led both sides. Anfernee McLemore gave them 10 points, giving the Tigers three double figure scorers. ‘Bama got 18 points out of John Petty off the bench and 13 from Kira Lewis Jr., but no one else got into double figures. — Chris Novak

Meanwhile in Missouri, the Missouri Tigers snapped their three-game losing streak with a 77-67 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. Jeremiah Tilmon had a great game, scoring a team-high 19 points and tying his career-high with 35 minutes of action. Jordan Geist and Javon Pickett had 15 and 12 points, respectively. While he didn’t score a single point, Kevin Puryear led Mizzou with 10 rebounds. Vandy was led by Aaron Nesmeth’s 19 points and fall to 0-8 in SEC play. — Rob O’Neill

The Tennessee Volunteers survived a bit of a scare against the Texas A&M Aggies, pulling out a 93-76 victory in College Station. By the scoreline, you wouldn’t think the game was ever in doubt, but A&M was within two points with 11 minutes to play. The Aggies never managed to take the lead, though, and the top-ranked Vols went into second gear to pull out the win. Grant Williams had 22 points and 10 rebounds, both leading the team. Jordan Bone also had a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Wendell Mitchell led A&M with 18 points. — Rob O’Neill